An Uncertain Future
by TMNTfan1
Summary: Note: This is a sequal to A Single Broken Promise, read that story before reading this one. Kayla is now a senior and isn't sure what to do after high school, but that's the least of her problems. The Foot is more active, someone asks Kayla to a dance, and a friendship is tested. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Kayla sighed as she shifted her textbooks in her arms and made her way through the crowded hallway.

"Kayla!"

The black-haired seventeen year old paused and looked over her shoulder, letting the flow of high schoolers pass her. Marcus hurried up to her, a couple textbooks and notebooks under his right arm.

"Hey, Marcus." Kayla greeted him as they continued. "Where are you headin'?"

"Gym." he answered.

"Same here." Kayla smiled as she looked up at him. They'd hung out quite a bit more the past few months both during school and over summer vacation. They had become pretty close friends in that amount of time.

"So, what's it like officially being a big, bad senior?" Marcus asked with a smirk as he looked down at her.

Kayla sighed for a moment. "Well, so far it's not too bad. I guess the worst part of it is what comes at the end of the year…Graduation." Kayla looked up at him. She was only about 5' 5" while Marcus was a good 5' 9" or so.

Marcus smiled back down at her. "Have you decided what you wanna do after high school?"

Kayla shrugged. "Honestly, I have no clue. There's a few things I'd like to do, I guess, but I haven't decided yet."

They were quiet for a while before Marcus spoke again. "So, what have you been up to?"

Kayla thought for a moment, trying to decided what she could say. She couldn't tell him too much about her life, she knew that. It could lead to too much information about her family and lifestyle. Finally, she thought of one thing she could talk about.

"Um, well, the last week before school started my brothers and I had to help our friend Casey at Coney Island. His friend owns the place and Casey was asked personally if he could fix up some of the rides and stuff, so we gave him a hand."

"Really? Wow, I haven't been to Coney Island since I was, like…eleven, maybe twelve."

"Really?" Kayla was slightly shocked. Most people who lived here went to Coney Island at least every couple years if they could afford it.

"Yeah, my parents used to take my brother and I there all the time, but we haven't been there in forever." it was easy to tell by his voice that he missed it. Kayla thought for a moment before her face lit up.

"Hey, I have a spare key to Coney Island. Are you doing anything Friday night?"

Marcus looked slightly surprised. "Um, well, uh…football." he answered regretfully.

Kayla felt like an idiot. "Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, I forgot. Um, what about…Saturday?" she shrugged.

Marcus smiled. "I'm not doing anything. But this isn't a-um…you know a…"

Kayla suddenly realized how she made that sound. "Oh, no I-uh, I didn't mean-um. Sorry." Kayla chuckled awkwardly and she felt her face heat up. "I mean just, ya know, hanging out as friends."

Marcus chuckled, too. "Okay, yeah, that's what I thought, um, yeah well, sure. I'd love that. So, do you want me to pick you up or something?"

Kayla thought for a moment. "Um, no. How about I meet you there?"

"Okay, how about…seven?"

Kayla nodded. "Sounds good."

Later that afternoon Kayla slid her board to a halt at the familiar brick, sewer wall and pulled the right pipe, making the doorway slide open. Kayla grabbed her board and entered the lair, sliding sideways down the railing to the floor.

"I'm home!" she shouted as she walked to the couch and plopped her school bag on the couch and skateboard on the floor.

Donny came walking out of his room with his laptop. "Hey. So, how was your first day of school?"

Kayla shrugged as they both made their way to the kitchen. "Well, it's school. But I guess it wasn't _so _bad."

Donny chuckled as he sat down at the table. "Care to be a little more specific?" he urged.

Kayla pulled an apple out of the fridge and tapped her chin as she thought. "Well, I'm really glad I have gym with Alana and Marcus again. I also have pottery with Katie, well I have at least one of them in most of my classes, actually. Oh, and I _do not _have any classes with Alex, thank goodness." Kayla sighed exaggeratedly in relief before taking a bite of her apple.

"Is he still giving you trouble?" Don asked, a hint of concern in his voice as he typed away at his laptop. A couple days after Alex and his friends ganged up on her Raph finally made her tell the whole family the whole story, all of them had been extremely glad to hear what was really going on.

Kayla grinned as she swallowed and shook her head. "Nope. He hasn't said a single word to me since that day last year when everyone ganged up on him, but it's still awkward being around him, especially since our lockers are right by each other."

Don nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I can imagine it would be. So, that Marcus kid. I've heard you talk about him once in a while. What's the deal with him?" Don asked teasingly. Kayla rolled her eyes.

"He's just a friend, girls and guys can be friends, ya know." she pointed out. Donny raised his hands, signaling surrender.

"I never said anything different, I was just asking a question."

"Yeah, right." Kayla rolled her eyes again.

"What's dis bout girls an' guys?" Raph asked as he sauntered into the kitchen and leaned against the kitchen counter lazily.

"Nothing." Kayla answered, slight teasing in her tone.

Raph grabbed a cookie off a plate on the counter. "Remember our agreement: No boyfriends til you're thirty." he reminded her. Kayla sighed and rolled her eyes.

"We made that agreement when I was, like, twelve Raph. I never even met any guys apart from all of you at that point. And anyway, most of the guys at my school are total airheads. I wouldn't even consider dating most of them."

Raph raised an eye ridge at her response. "Most?" he repeated.

Kayla sat down at the table next to Don. "Well, not _all_ of them are jerks. There are some guys who have never been mean to me once in the entire time I've known them. So, I guess there's a _chance _if any of them asked me out I'd say yes. Not that it'll happen." she muttered quietly under her breath. She knew most of the nice guys were happily spoken for.

"Yeah, well, if ya ever get a boyfriend I'll-"

"Hey, Kayla." Don interrupted before Raph could continue. "Don't you have to get to work?"

Kayla looked at the clock on the stove behind her. It was going on four o'clock. "Yeah, I better get going. I'll see you guys tonight."

With that Kayla grabbed her skateboard and hurried out of the lair. A good fifteen minutes of skating later she picked up her board and opened the front entrance to the small antique store _Second Time Around_.

"April? I'm here." she called as she entered. The familiar redhead walked around the corner of a tall shelf.

"Hi, Kayla." she greeted happily.

"Hey, so anything you need done?" Kayla asked as she set her board behind the front desk. She'd started working for April around late June because she knew she needed to get a job, but with everything her family goes through it'd be hard to find a good job with a decently flexible schedule. At least working for April meant that April usually knew what was going on and would be understanding if Kayla couldn't work for some reason.

"Actually, yeah. Could you mop the floor please?" April asked nicely as she moved to put an antique vase on another shelf. April kept the shop open only part time while she also worked as a news reporter later at night along with an investigative reporter. It was easy to see she had her hands full and definitely needed help around the shop once in a while. She also didn't appreciate when the turtles helped, they ended up breaking things more than helping.

Kayla walked into the back room to grab the mop and a bucket of water.

"So how was your first day at school?" April called from the front of the shop.

Kayla sighed with a smile as she began telling April how her day at school went.


	2. Chapter 2

Kayla opened her bedroom door slightly and leaned her shoulder on the side of the doorway as she thoughtfully surveyed her home. Donny was working on his computers, no surprise there; Raph was beating his punching bag, again-no surprise; Leo was working with Sensei in the dojo; and Mikey was absorbed in watching one of his many favorite cartoons. The path from her bedroom to the front entrance was wide open, but there was no way of knowing how long that would last.

Her eyes narrowed as her gaze rested on her youngest older brother. Kayla then turned back and looked over her shoulder around her bedroom. Her gaze stopped as it landed on an extra large Snickers chocolate bar she got from Casey after winning a bet against him. A huge smile instantly spread across her face.

Kayla slid on her blue sneakers, grabbed the chocolate bar, and checked herself in her mirror quick. She was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt off one shoulder, a black tank top underneath, and dark skinny jeans. Her long, black hair draped casually over her shoulders and down her back. Concluding that she looked fine she left her room and casually, but quietly, approached the sofa where Mikey was sitting.

"Hey Mikey," she whispered, trying to get his attention without attracting anyone else's attention. When he didn't respond she repeated it, "Mikey…Miiiiiikeeeeyy." Seeing that he was still ignoring her Kayla scowled at him before an idea popped into her head. She pulled the Snickers out from behind her back and wiggled it temptingly in front of his face. Mikey blinked a couple times and looked up at it. Kayla then pulled it back and hid it behind her back again.

"What? What'd you say?" Mikey asked as he looked up at her. Kayla grinned.

"I need you to do a teensy weensy favor for me." Kayla smiled hopefully down at her brother as she leaned on one forearm on the back of the sofa.

Mikey narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't know-" he began uncertainly, but he stopped and widened his eyes when Kayla pulled the chocolate back out. "What is it you wanted?" he asked eagerly.

"I'm going out for a few hours and I need you to make sure Raph doesn't leave the lair for at least…one hour." Kayla answered, figuring an hour would be enough time for her to get far enough away to the point Raph couldn't follow her.

Mikey looked thoughtful. "Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

Kayla raised one eyebrow. "I'm offering you chocolate. Do you really need to know?"

"Good point. Okay, see ya." Mikey reached eagerly for the candy, but Kayla held it away from him and held up her pointer finger on her other hand.

"One hour. Got it?" she checked.

Mikey nodded vigorously. "Yep. One hour. Got it."

Kayla handed the candy bar to her brother, "Thank you, precious." she said teasingly.

Mikey took the Snickers from her, "You're welcome, cupcake."

As he turned his attention back to the TV Kayla picked up her skateboard and looked around the lair. Everyone else was preoccupied so she raced silently to the entrance, opened it, and slipped out.

Raph paused in his punching, one arm up, and looked up. "Mike, what was dat?"

Mikey didn't look up from the TV. "What was what?"

Kayla's hair whipped back as her skateboard sped down the sidewalk, getting closer to the front entrance of Coney Island. Finally, the entrance came into her view with Marcus waiting patiently by the doors. Kayla finally slid to a stop near him and pulled the keys out of her pocket.

"Hey, sorry if I kept you waiting. I had brothers to deal with." she explained, her voice slightly winded. She unlocked the door, picked up her board, and let Marcus walk in first.

"That's okay. I was only here for a few minutes." Marcus answered as he waited for Kayla to put her board near the dumpster. As they kept walking he asked, "What exactly did you have to 'deal with'?"

Kayla smirked. "I bribed one of my brothers to occupy one of my other brothers so he won't come looking for me."

Marcus laughed. "Okay. Why would he come looking for you?"

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Because he's an overprotective hothead who seems to think I can't take care of myself. And he doesn't like me hanging out with boys."

"Why doesn't he like you hanging out with boys?"

Kayla put her hands in her jean pockets and watched the ground as they walked. "He has it in his head that most teenage guys will take advantage of a girl like me without even a second thought. And I know there are guys like that out there, but I know you wouldn't do that. And anyway, we're just friends, but of course he has ta be the protective big brother."

"Well, I suppose having a brother who cares about you is better than one that beats the snot out of you." Marcus reasoned.

"Yeeeaah, except he's done that, too."

Marcus started in surprise. "What? Is he, like, bipolar?"

Kayla chuckled. "No, just short-tempered. Sometimes when we're practicing our…fighting he loses control of his temper and accidentally hurts me. But I never blame him or anything, I'm used to it." Marcus looked slightly confused and concerned so Kayla decided to try and change the subject. "So, what ride ya wanna go on first?"

They rode all the roller coasters, bumper cars, the zenobio,…pretty much every ride there. About an hour later they were laughing and still slightly dizzy from the last ride they were on.

"Okay, so now what?" Kayla asked, still laughing and slightly winded.

Marcus looked around, trying to see a ride they hadn't been on yet. Finally his eyes landed on one. "How about the Ferris wheel?"

Kayla followed where he was looking and saw Ferris wheel not far from them. "Sure." she agreed as they made their way towards it. They sat in one of the seats and Kayla started it up. As the ride started going up Kayla looked over the side, smiling at the view, which she knew would get better the higher they got.

Deciding to start a conversation Kayla said, "So, I heard you guys won your game last night. What's it like playing on the Varsity team?"

Marcus shrugged. "It's pretty much the same, we just gotta work harder and some of the guys on the varsity team, especially the seniors, are kinda stuck up."

Kayla nodded. "Yeah, they are." she responded pointedly, making Marcus smirk.

By the time they got close to the top they were talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Kayla was about to ask him what classes he was taking when suddenly the Ferris wheel lurched. Well, not the whole Ferris wheel, just their seat.

"Whoa!" Marcus lurched with the swing and grabbed onto the side. "What the heck?"

Kayla looked around the swing before leaning over her side and looking up.

"Crap." she muttered. Standing just above them, tinkering with the bolts connecting their swing to the Ferris wheel, was three Foot ninjas. And there was about a dozen more clambering around other parts of the large carnival ride.

"What is it?" Marcus asked, looking up where she was looking. "Whoa! Are-are those ninjas?"

Kayla thought quickly. "Okay, um…Marcus you need to duck down and hold on to something, I'll deal with them. When it gets to the bottom you need to get out and leave. Don't stop, don't call for help, I can handle this, okay? I promise I'll explain everything the next time I see you. Okay?"

Without waiting for him to reply she jumped onto the side of the swing, grabbed a bar above her head, and swung herself up and flew feet first, kicking one ninja in the face. She stood carefully in a fighting stance on the moving wheel, about five ninjas moving in on her while the rest watched.

They all lunged at her and she ducked and dodged their attacks to the best of her ability, trying hard not to fall off the wheel to her certain death. Most of them had a single katana while some had chains or naginatas. One ninja swung his katana down at her head but her arms shot up, catching the blade between her palms. Her arms quivered with the effort as the ninja pressed down and she could feel the blade begin cutting into her palm. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple more ninjas racing towards her.

Thinking quickly Kayla lifted one foot and kicked the ninja with the katana in the gut, making him let go of his weapon. She flipped the katana and caught the handle in one hand and used it to deflect the other attacks. Master Splinter had taught them all basics on how to use all other ninjitsu weapons, so she knew a little bit about how to fight with a katana. She just hoped it'd be enough to keep herself alive.

She felt someone racing up behind her so she spun around and lifted the katana to block the attack. There was a loud clang as katana met katana. She looked up and her eyes widened as she looked into dark eyes hidden behind a red mask with a gray jaw area and black eyes. She shoved the katana up, pushing her opponent away, and backed up.

"Y-you?" she stuttered. "But, you helped us last time. Why would you and your ninjas attack me like this?"

It was the same female Foot ninja who'd helped them against the stone generals a few months back. She was wearing her usual red facemask as well as her black hooded cape. She didn't answer or move. Since Kayla was distracted for a moment another ninja slammed into her side, knocking her over the side of the Ferris wheel. She squeaked from the shock as she fell. She reached out her hands and missed a couple bars but finally managed to catch herself, causing her body to slam into the side of the Ferris wheel. She heard the clang of metal as the katana fell to the ground.

Kayla gritted her teeth as she tried to pull herself up, both from the effort and from the pain. She pulled herself up just enough that her arms were crossed on top of the bar and the rest of her body hung limply below her. She was about to try pulling herself up all the way when there was a thump and a darker shadow fell over her. She looked up to see one Foot ninja standing over her, balancing on the swing in front of her. He lifted the katana high over his head, preparing to strike down. Kayla glanced over her shoulder. The ground below was well over a hundred feet, if she let go and wasn't able to catch herself she'd die. Kayla looked back up at the ninja in front of her. Either way she would die in this situation.

Kayla turned away and ducked her head, waiting for the blade to slice through her.

There was a clang of metal and a thump that shook the bar Kayla was clinging to. She peaked up and sighed in relief when she saw a familiar green shape knock the ninjas away from her. Raph turned to look down at her.

"Yur lucky Mikey don't know how ta keep his mouth shut!" he shouted before taking her hand and pulling her up. Kayla looked above her and saw another green shape fighting a group of ninjas with twin katanas on top of the Ferris wheel.

One Foot ninja swung a najinata at Raph's head, which he hooked with his sais. With a flick of his wrists he jerked the weapon out of the ninja's hands and caught it, using his foot to kick the ninja off the Ferris wheel.

"Ya know how ta use one a dese?" Raph asked as he tossed the naginata to Kayla, who caught it.

"Um, yeah." she answered uncertainly. She knew a little bit, but she wasn't sure if it'd be enough to take on Foot ninjas.

Nonetheless she jumped into the fight warding off attacks back-to-back with Raph. Eventually, they worked their way back up to the top of the ride, where Kayla saw Leo facing the leader of the Foot as well as a few other ninjas.

Getting caught up in the fight Kayla was fighting three ninjas. She managed to knock two of them off the bar, making them land in one of the swings. The third one stumbled and crashed into her, making her stumble back. She felt her heel slip off the side of the bar. The ninja who bumped her leapt up and slammed a kick into her stomach, making her fly back just far enough she couldn't reach the Ferris wheel to save herself.

She barely made out Raph shout her name but the wind seemed to sweep all sounds away. She could see the ground quickly coming closer and closer to her and closed her eyes, her screams being swept from her throat by the wind.

Her body lurched to a stop as she felt a firm hand grip her wrist. She swung and her side slammed again into the side of the ride's bars. She was panting heavily from the rush of falling and from having the wind knocked out of her as she was pulled to safety.

Another hand went under her other arm and pulled her onto a bar, letting her sit back against another bar. She lifted her head and opened her eyes, and they immediately widened in shock. The leader of the Foot was staring at her, though her mask still covered her facial expressions.

"You…you saved me?" Kayla whispered in confusion. "I-first you attack me and then you save me? What's the deal?" she demanded, her confusion making her slightly peeved.

The ninja pulled off her mask, flicking her head slightly to get her hair out of her face. She knelt on one knee with the other up, her arm resting on her knee while holding her mask.

"Our intention in this attack was not to kill you." she answered simply.

"Yeah, well tell that to one of your Foot goons who kicked me off the top of the Ferris wheel!" she shouted, gesturing up with her hand. "Who are you, anyway?"

"You may call me Karai." she said in the same monotone-type voice as before.

"Fine." Kayla answered curtly, still a bit ticked off. "But what I don't get is: Why attack me? I mean, you guys helped us not that long ago, why the sudden attack?"

Karai looked down for a moment before looking back up. "I was not the one who ordered this attack."

Kayla furrowed her brows in confusion, her mouth open just slightly. "But…you're the leader of the Foot Clan. If you didn't order this attack…than who did?"

Karai was silent again, for a bit longer than before. Finally she stared intently into Kayla's eyes, hers were a darker shade of brown than Kayla's. "Do you remember the last time we spoke? The last thing I said to you?"

Kayla looked down and thought hard, trying the best she could to remember. But that was some time ago and a lot had happened. Finally, she shook her head, showing she couldn't remember.

Karai leaned even closer and whispered, "Soon we will have further business together, that involves familiar faces from your past."

Kayla felt a shiver run up her spine as she looked back up at the female ninja. "What? But…who? Who do you mean?"

Karai didn't say anything. Instead she stood up and stared down at her. When she lifted her hand Kayla instinctively flinched, but Karai simply put her mask back on. Then, she threw a smoke pellet on the narrow bar beneath her feet, making her vanish.

Kayla coughed and waved her hand in front of her face.

"Kayla!"

There was a loud thump in front of her before Raph knelt down, resting a hand on her shoulder as he looked her over. "Ya alright?"

Kayla nodded simply.

"Good. Cause now I'm gonna kill ya!"

Kayla rolled her eyes. Sometimes she could swear her brother really was bipolar, like Marcus said.

"Raph, cool off. She's been through enough fighting for one night." Leo stated as he landed on the bar just above them. "I believe these are yours." he added to Kayla, tossing the keys to her, which she caught and put in her pocket. She just then realized the Ferris wheel had been stopped for a while.

The three jumped down to the ground and walked towards the front where she left her skateboard near the dumpster.

"So, ya gonna tell us why ya came out ere without tellin' anyone?" Raph asked as they headed towards an alley.

"Depends. Are you gonna tell me how ya guys found me?"

Leo looked over his shoulder at her from where he was walking ahead of his younger siblings. "Don put a tracking device in all our shell cells, that includes yours."

Kayla's face looked like she'd been smacked. Then she scowled at her brothers. "What-you guys don't trust me or somethin'?"

"Kayla, it's not that and you know it. It's a safety precaution. And you're lucky we got here when we did, that Foot ninja was about to slice off your head!" Leo pointed out before facing forward and leading the way into a back alley.

Kayla crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." she muttered.

"Uh oh, looks like da big bad senior's poutin'." Raph teased. Kayla just ignored him. "So ya gonna tell us why ya were out here or what?"

Kayla shrugged. "I just…felt like going on a couple rides." she answered. She didn't want her brothers finding out about Marcus. Deciding she didn't want to walk with Raph because he seemed to be able to read her easily, Kayla hurried forward to walk with Leo.

"So, that female ninja looked like she was talking to you before the Foot disappeared." Leo said, seemingly trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, she told me a lot of…weird information. I'll tell everyone when we get home, it's a lot to explain more than once."

Leo nodded at her but then glanced around. "Hey, where's-"

"Gotcha!" Raph shouted from behind them. Leo and Kayla glanced at each other before Leo drew his sword and they raced back to their brother. He had someone pinned to the wall, but it was too dark to see who it was.

"Why ya followin' us, kid?' Raph demanded, his sai against the person's neck and his fist clutching the T-shirt.

"Look, I-I can explain! I swear!"

Kayla gasped and moved forward to stand by Raph, making eye contact with their follower.

"Um, h-hi Kayla."


	3. Chapter 3

"Um, h-hi Kayla."

Kayla gaped for a moment and she was sure her face was tinted red. Finally she found her voice.

"Marcus?" her voice came out almost as a squeak.

Raph looked over his shoulder at her. "Marcus? As in the Marcus you go to school with-Marcus?"

"Uh…" Kayla's mouth went dry as she glanced between her brothers and Marcus.

"Um, could-could you please put me down?" Marcus asked nervously. Raph narrowed his eyes at him, not loosening his grip.

"Raph." Leo warned him. Raph grunted and let go of Marcus, stepping back and putting his sai back in his belt.

"So, why'd ya follow us?" he questioned the young teen.

"Um, w-well, I saw Kayla following you guys so I followed to see what was going on."

"But I told you to run away." Kayla argued in confusion.

"Well, I couldn't bring myself to, you know, leave you." Kayla exchanged glances with her brothers, all three slightly confused. "I mean, come on, you were fighting a bunch of ninjas or whatever. Did you honestly think I'd just leave like that?" Kayla smiled to herself, touched by his intentions.

There was an awkward silence before Marcus spoke again. "Um, no offense or anything, but…how are you guys giant turtles?"

Leo looked down at Kayla. "Do you trust him?" he asked her. Kayla nodded immediately. She didn't trust easily, and if Marcus could manage to earn her trust in such a short time of knowing her, then he had to be a good person. Leo nodded. "Alright." he looked down at Marcus, who looked nervously up at him. "Do you want to come to our home? You can meet our father and, if he trusts you, he can tell you our story."

Marcus thought about it for a moment before nodding. Leo turned and lead the way towards their home, Kayla walked beside Marcus, and Raph brought up the rear incase anyone else followed them. After a while Kayla noticed that Leo was taking a slightly longer way home, probably so Marcus wouldn't know how to find the lair again, just as a precaution.

When they finally came to the entrance Leo pulled on the pipe, causing the door to slide open. Kayla giggled silently to herself when Marcus gaped at the entrance sliding open, it was too adorable. She shook her head and lead Marcus into the old subway station.

Mikey suddenly skated by.

"Hey, you found-wait, who's this?" Mikey stopped and pointed at Marcus, a huge smile appearing on his face. He loved meeting new people.

"What are babbling about now, Mike?" Don asked as he turned around in his computer chair and pulled his headphones off his head, letting them rest around his neck. When he noticed his other siblings with someone new he took off his headphones completely and walked over to them.

Kayla sighed out an, "Oookay," before beginning introductions. "Guys this is Marcus, Marcus these are my brothers: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo." she stated, pointing to each turtle as she named him.

"Wait. Marcus? As in Marcus-Marcus?" Mikey asked, a huge teasing smile spreading across his face.

"Mikey, can it." Kayla threatened.

"The Marcus that-"

"Shut up."

"But you admit it's the Marcus-"

"Mikey, you're pushing it." Leo warned.

"But come on. How many Marcus's can there be that-"

"That's it!" Kayla flipped Mikey's board into the air, caught it, and began chasing him with it swinging over her head, and Mikey screaming like a girl. Don moved to get out of their way, standing closer to Leo as the three other turtles and Marcus watched Kayla chase Mikey around the den.

"Um, are they always like this? I don't think I've ever seen Kayla like this." Marcus asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah, unfortunately they are." Leo answered, shaking his head at his youngest siblings.

Kayla then chased Mikey around the others shouting, "You're a dead turtle, Michelangelo!"

As they raced past the dojo entrance a large booming voice shouted, "What is all this commotion?!"

Kayla and Mikey immediately slid to a stop and stared wide-eyed as their Sensei approached them, looking stern. Kayla slowly hid the skateboard behind her back and smiled guiltily up at her father, Mikey mirroring her movements. Splinter raised one furry eyebrow at his daughter before holding out his hand expectantly. Kayla sighed and handed him the skateboard, she could hear her other brothers trying to stifle their laughter.

"Kayla, I know you have a fiery temper, especially when it comes to your brothers, but you must remember to control your anger, no matter how much Michelangelo deserves it." he added jokingly as he eyed his youngest son. The laughter behind them grew and even Kayla laughed a tiny bit. "Now, I believe you have someone to introduce me to, Kayla." Splinter added as he looked over Kayla's head to where Marcus was still standing by Leo.

Kayla nodded before turning and leading her father towards Marcus, but he stopped a couple yards away so he didn't freak Marcus out. Marcus seemed a little shocked and a bit confused, but luckily not scared.

Kayla stood next to him. "Marcus, this is my father Splinter, but we usually call him Master Splinter or Sensei. And Master Splinter, this is Marcus."

Master Splinter was stroking his beard. "Ah, yes. Your friend from school." Mikey burst out laughing and even Raph chuckled a bit, which made Kayla go red. "Michelangelo! Raphael! Enough!" Splinter ordered sternly, which shut them both up. Splinter then turned back to Marcus and seemed to study him, which made Marcus uncomfortable. After a few moments Splinter nodded. "You have honest eyes and a kind heart. Come, I will tell you our story." and he lead the way towards the large flat screen TV and sofa.

Marcus looked at Kayla in confusion. "Huh?"

Kayla smiled. "That means he trusts you and likes you. Come on." she lead Marcus over and she sat on the far side of the couch with him sitting next to her. Raph was leaning on the wall nearby with his arms crossed, Don was sitting in the recliner, and Master Splinter was standing just in front of Marcus with Leo behind him off to the right side.

"I got the popcorn!" Mikey shouted as he came running from the kitchen and jumped over the back of the couch, landing with a _boing_ on the spot next to Marcus. Kayla put her face in her hand and shook her head, faintly noticing that Marcus scooted a little bit closer to her to get away from her boisterous brother.

Master Splinter cleared his throat, signaling to everyone to stop talking. "Over twenty years ago I lived in Japan with my Master Yoshi as his pet rat. My Master was one of the most skilled ninjitsu masters in the land, and I learned much from him by mimicking his moves from my cage. Yoshi was in love with a beautiful woman named Tang Shen. However, there was another man who sought her heart. A man named Oroku Saki. But Tang Shen loved my master, so they decided to move here to New York to escape Saki. But one day my Master returned home from his work to find Tang Shen lying dead on the ground, and then Saki leapt at him from the shadows, giving him no time to respond. In the struggle my cage was broken. I leapt at Saki's face, biting and clawing but he knocked me to the floor and sliced my ear with his katana. My Master and his love were dead, and I was left alone. I lived in the alleys and sewers like many other rats until one day I found a broken canister and four baby turtles."

Mikey nudged Marcus with his elbow. "That was us." he whispered. Marcus and Kayla laughed quietly while Raph smacked Mike upside the head.

"The turtles were crawling through a strange green ooze. I decided to gather them up in an old coffee can, unknowingly getting the ooze on myself as well. The next day I was shocked to discover that we all had doubled in size. We rapidly began growing, both physically and intellectually. I knew the world above would not be welcoming to us, so I decided for us all to live below in the sewers and to teach my new sons the art of ninjitsu. I then chose names for all of them from an old Renaissance book. My oldest son was named Leonardo," he gestured to Leo beside him, who bowed his head slightly, "my second oldest Raphael," Raph nodded his head upward, "Donatello," Don waved slightly, "and my youngest Michelangelo."

"You can call me Mikey." Mike waved enthusiastically even though Marcus was only a few inches from him.

Marcus was awestruck for a moment as he gazed around the room at everyone. Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait," he turned to Kayla, "how do you fit into all of this?"

Kayla looked to her father, silently wondering what to say.

Mikey spoke up. "I think Raphy boy should tell this story. It's technically his." Raph smacked him again. "Ow."

Splinter turned to Kayla. "It is your story, and Marcus is your friend. Why don't you tell your story and choose how much you wish to tell?"

Kayla glanced around the room before looking back at her father. "I can tell him anything I want from the story?" she checked. Splinter nodded.

Kayla looked at the ground and thought for a moment before starting. "A long time ago, like twenty-some years ago, there was a clan of ninjas called the Foot Clan. They were lead by a man called The Shredder, aka Oroku Saki."

"The same guy that killed Yoshi?" Marcus asked in shock. Kayla nodded with a blank expression.

"When Saki followed Yoshi to America he brought with him a faction of the Foot Clan. Among the members that came was a woman ninja named Aimi. She was well known among the clan for her skill. When they moved to New York Shredder seemed to notice her for the first time, she was one of the most skilled ninjas in Japan, and she was very beautiful; so obviously that caught Shredder's attention. So, they…they spent a night…together." Kayla looked at Marcus for a moment before looking back at her feet. "A couple nights later Aimi lead a small group of ninjas to steal something from an old warehouse, but they were attacked by a large gang. She was beaten within an inch of her life and left behind. Then, who should happen to appear but Yoshi himself. He took her back to his apartment, and he and Tang Shen nursed Aimi back to health. Aimi was not happy about the circumstances, but she was in no position to pose a threat. However, after about a week staying with them she learned a lot. Especially about honor. She finally realized that what Shredder and the Foot were doing was wrong. She also discovered that she was pregnant, and that the Shredder was looking for her. She knew she couldn't go back to him, it wouldn't feel right. So she left Yoshi so she wouldn't put them in anymore danger and just stayed hidden in the big city. She found out Yoshi and Tang Shen were murdered a couple days after she left, and knew it was by the Shredder. When she gave birth to a daughter she named her Kayla." Kayla smiled and Marcus's eyes widened as he pointed at her.

Kayla nodded. "Aimi knew the Foot were closing in on her so she contacted Master Splinter, because she found out what happened to him and knew he was living in the sewers. He agreed to keeping me until Aimi came back for me when it was safe again. She left me in a spot in the sewers so he could go get me. However, Raph beat him to it." Kayla smirked up at her older brother, who was being nudged teasingly by Mikey.

"But, you said she'd come back for you." Marcus pointed out in confusion.

Kayla nodded. "She was…murdered by the Shredder as punishment for 'betraying the Foot Clan'," Kayla used air quotes with her fingers, "and for refusing to tell him where I was."

"No offence, but that's just dumb! To murder her just for that." Marcus was thoroughly appalled. Kayla nodded in agreement as she pulled her feet up under her to lean back on the couch.

"While we're talkin' bout the Foot and things that're dumb, Kay, why don't ya explain what all happened tanight." Raph suggested pointedly. Kayla hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.

"You did say you'd explain everything when we got back." Leo pointed out.

Kayla groaned and pulled her knees up to bury her face in them.

"Just get it over with, dudette." Mikey suggested curiously.

Kayla sighed and lifted her head again. "Okay, fine. Marcus and I went to hang out at Coney Island because neither of us have been there for a while-"

"You were there just a couple weeks ago." Don pointed out.

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but not to ride anything, that was to work. Anyway, we hung out for about an hour when-"

"I thought ya said ya were alone." Raph pointed out.

"I never said I was alone, I just didn't tell you I was with Marcus. Now will everyone _shut up_?!" Kayla shouted, getting annoyed with all the interruptions.

"My sons, let your sister speak." Splinter scolded.

"Okay, now, about an hour after riding rides we decided to get on the Ferris wheel. When we were near the top our seat lurched. I looked up and saw a couple Foot ninjas messing with the bolts holding the swing to the ride. I told Marcus to leave when the seat got to the bottom and climbed up to fight them." Kayla then explained the fight in detail, which made Mikey excited. "Then, when I was hanging onto this bar a ninja was about to slice my head off when Raph showed up and helped me, Leo was fighting up on the top. Then, at one point a ninja pushed me off the side of the Ferris wheel. I couldn't grab anything and I was just falling, and I kinda figured I was gonna die right there. Then, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto a bar. When I looked up I saw that it was that girl ninja. The leader."

"The one that helped us with Winters and the stone generals?" Don guessed. Kayla nodded before continuing.

"I asked her a bunch of questions about why she was attacking me like this after they helped us last time and she told me a whole bunch of weird information."

"Like what?" Leo prompted, getting a bit impatient for answers.

"Well, for one her name's Karai, and she said that she didn't order the attack, someone else did."

"But, she's the leader, right?" Mikey asked, "Who'd be giving orders to her?"

Don looked thoughtful. "Maybe she's only the leader of the New York faction? Maybe she has a higher up back in Japan. I don't know, just a theory."

"Did she say anything else?" Leo asked.

Kayla nodded. "She…she said." Kayla sighed. "She reminded me of our last encounter. Of the last thing she said to us. 'Soon we'll have further business together, that involves familiar faces from your past'."

There was a long silence, but Donny murmured quietly, "I remember her saying that."

"You don't think it could really be…him…do you?" Mikey asked nervously, his voice unusually quiet.

"No way! Shredder's deader than dead. There's no way in shell he survived dat." Raph shouted.

"Raph's right." Leo agreed. "No one can survive a whole warehouse caving in on them. It's just not possible."

"Yeah but, he survived being crushed in a garbage truck." Kayla pointed out quietly, "and he got mutated just before the warehouse collapsed. He's not just a regular person. He's like…the Super Shredder or something."

"Yeah, or the Shredenator." Mikey added in a creepy voice.

"What do you think, Sensei?" Leo asked, turning to their father.

Splinter was thoughtful for a moment. "We made the mistake of believing the Shredder was gone many years ago, and we were wrong. I fear, if we are not careful, we may make the same mistake. We cannot afford to jump to any conclusions until we learn more." everyone nodded in agreement but Leo noticed Kayla was hugging her arms and looking at the ground. He approached her and knelt on the ground in front of her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Kayla? Are you okay?" he asked gently. Everyone else quietly left the room, Mikey lead Marcus towards the kitchen for a snack.

Kayla didn't answer her brother, just hugged her arms tighter, squeezing her biceps with her fists so hard her hands started leaving red marks.

"Kayla, look at me." Leo tilted his head to get a better view of her face. When their eyes met he noticed for the first time that her eyes were watery. "Kayla, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Kayla swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "What if…I mean, if the Shredder really is alive…what if he comes after us? He'll probably still be looking for revenge. He'll wanna kill us." Kayla didn't say it out loud, but she was terrified that the Shredder would want to punish her more for betraying her 'family' since he was technically her father. Maybe he'd kill her brothers and Splinter and make her watch before killing her. She looked shakily up at her brother. "Leo…I'm scared."

Leo was slightly taken aback. Kayla rarely admitted to being scared. Even when it was obvious she'd deny it. And her voice when she said it, it just sounded so…weak, and small. Leo pulled her into a hug, and for the first time felt her trembling against him. She really was terrified. He always thought of her as his baby sister, much to her constant annoyance, but as she got older he never thought of her as being small. But as he held her tiny, shaking form against him he became all too aware of how fragile she seemed.

"I won't let that happen." Leo promised. "No matter what's thrown at us, we'll get through it…together. Right?" Leo leaned his head back to try and look at her face. She nodded, her face still buried in his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Leo pulled away. "Come on, how about a snack?" he offered.

Kayla smiled and rubbed her eyes, which were red from crying. She stood up and Leo walked with a hand on her back to the kitchen. When they got there they saw Splinter and Don drinking tea and Raph eating a cookie while they watched Marcus and Mikey playing paper football at the kitchen table.

"Dude! Kay, ya gotta bring this kid back sometime!" Mikey shouted when they entered the kitchen. "He's awesome!"

Everyone laughed at Mikey's enthusiasm and Marcus even looked at Kayla with a curious eagerness, making it clear he'd be more than up for coming by again some time.

Kayla smiled. "Well, if he really wants ta stop by again sometime I guess I can arrange that."


	4. Chapter 4

_A breeze blew gently through a dark alley, ruffling the sheets hanging on a clothesline above. Kayla stood between her brothers, an arrow aimed and ready with her bow. A dark, quiet chuckle echoed off the dark, alley walls occasionally, nearly paralyzing her with fear._

_Something warm and liquid spattered her and she looked over just in time to see Mikey fall to the ground._

"_Mikey!" Kayla dropped to her knees and rolled him over, her brothers crowding around her to see if he was okay. Kayla touched something on his plastron that was unusually soft and warm. She looked at her fingers to see them covered in red, warm liquid. She looked down to see two deep gashes that managed to penetrate his shelled plastron._

_A dark, evil voice began laughing again, much loud than before. A three-fingered hand grabbed Kayla's arm and yanked her to her feet, pulling her to stand between her brothers. Clouds moved away from the moon, causing the moonlight to illuminate a sinister figure at the back of the alley, steel glinting in the light._

_A deep growl came from Raph's throat. Then, he charged the attacker, shouting, "This is for Mikey!"_

"_Raph! Don't!" Leo shouted, but it was too late. They heard the clang of metal against metal, then a crunch and a tear before Raph's body dropped lifelessly to the ground._

"_No!" Kayla screamed, feeling her body grow cold._

_A foggy breeze flew in, surrounding the dark form, and when it cleared he was gone._

_Leo and Don shifted on either side of her, all three of them back to back. A loud thump made them all spin around to Don's side. Don swung his bow staff to fight him off, but the gauntlet easily sliced Don's staff in three pieces. He then swung the gauntlet at the purple masked turtle, slicing the blades through his throat, splattering the thick, warm liquid across Kayla's face._

_Kayla wanted to scream, to drop down and try to help her brother, or attack the one responsible for taking three members of her family from her, but she was frozen to the spot. Leo leapt past her, swinging his katanas at the armored attacker. _

_For someone wearing a suit of steel he moved swiftly, dodging all of Leo's attacks. He then swung his leg around, knocking the katanas out of Leo's hands. The clang of metal against cement echoed loudly off the alley walls as he swung the back of his hand at Leo, connecting with his plastron and sending him flying back. _

_Kayla could only watch as Leo's body rolled across the alley. When he finally rolled onto his front Kayla saw him move his arms under him, trying to push himself up. The Shredder approached him slowly and when he stopped beside the blue-masked turtle he bent down and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up off the ground. He threw Leo with all is strength, making him slam into the brick wall with a loud CRACK before he fell to the ground again._

_The Shredder approached him again, agonizingly slow, before he used his black boot to roll Leo's body over so he lay on his shell. Kayla noticed the glint of steel as he raised his gauntlet._

"_No, no, no," Kayla's voice was low and raspy as she realized what was happening before she shrieked, "No! Stop! Please don't kill him! I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt him!"_

_Shredder didn't even seem to hear her desperate pleas as he drew back his gauntlet. Time seemed to drag and Kayla felt like an invisible force was holding her back, keeping her from getting to her brother. Then, fast as lightning, the blades sliced through Leo's plastron. Leo gasped a gurgled breath as blood poured from the wound and dripped from his mouth. His face began paling instantly as Shredder dropped his body and stepped over it, making his way towards Kayla._

_Kayla stumbled back a step, suddenly able to move again. She backed into a wall and pressed her back to it, unable to get any further away. The Shredder approached her slowly, the bloodied tips of his gauntlet blades making a harsh, grating sound against the brick wall._

"_This is what happens to those who go against me." he stated, his voice low and deep. He raised his fist above Kayla's head, the moonlight catching the glistening blood coating the blades. As the blades swung down at her she screamed._

Kayla bolted up in her bed, a short scream escaping her mouth. She sat gasping for breath for a moment before she became aware of someone sitting in front of her on her bed, two hands on her shoulders.

"Kayla, it's okay. It was just a dream." Leo tilted his head to look into her eyes, the deep, calm brown relaxing her. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and scooted forward, leaning the side of her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." she murmured as Leo wrapped his arms around her.

Leo looked down at her in confusion. "For what?"

"Waking everyone up." she answered quietly.

Leo chuckled gently, shaking his head. "You didn't wake anyone up. I was still awake when I walked by your room and heard you talking in your sleep. You screamed once just as you woke up, but I doubt it was loud enough to wake anyone up. Especially Mikey." Kayla smirked at that. Everyone knew it usually took something about as loud as, if not louder than, a foghorn to wake up Mikey.

Leo looked down at his little sister again. "You're not crying. Was this one not as bad as the others?"

Kayla shrugged. "Maybe it's cause I'm older." she suggested quietly. She'd been having horrible nightmares for as long as she could remember, most of them about her loved ones, especially her family, being murdered by the Shredder. Most of the time her mom was in them. The creepy thing was the nightmares started when she was very young, long before they even met the Shredder, which even Donny couldn't explain. And she'd never really met her mother, seeing as she died when Kayla was only a couple days old. When they met the Shredder for the first time, when Kayla was twelve, her nightmares escalated drastically to one almost every night. When she woke up after every single nightmare she was crying and basically hyperventilating. It took close to half an hour or longer to get her to calm down and only Leo seemed to be able to help her.

"What was it about?" Leo asked. Kayla turned her head to bury her face in his shoulder, shaking her head. "Kayla, let me help you. I can't help you if you can't tell me what happened in your nightmare."

Kayla sighed. "Shredder killed all of you in an alley, and I had to watch. I woke up as he was about to kill me." Leo's shoulders lifted as he heaved a sigh.

"That's not going to happen, Kay. I promise."

Kayla nodded. "I know. It's not like I asked for that nightmare." deep down she still had a fear of her nightmare coming true, but she knew Leo would do anything to convince her otherwise, and she didn't want to hear about it.

"Ain't it a lil' late ta have a heart-ta-heart conversation?" a teasing voice asked from Kayla's doorway. Leo and Kayla turned to see Raph leaning on his shoulder in the doorway with his arms crossed, a teasing smirk on his face.

Kayla ignored his teasing and looked worriedly up at him. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" she asked.

Raph's smirk dropped to a frown, his eyes filling with concern. "Ya had another one." he said it more as a statement than a question.

Kayla looked down at her bed sheets and nodded, her legs were crossed and she was halfway on Leo's lap. She hadn't had a nightmare since she was about fifteen. She heard Raph sigh.

"Ya can rest easy, ya didn't wake no one up. I jus got back from patrollin' with Case. I heard some talkin' so I figured I'd check in." Raph tilted his head slightly closer to the doorframe, his golden brown eyes unusually gentle. "Ya gonna be alright?"

Kayla sniffed and nodded, a small smile on her lips. Her mouth then opened in a huge yawn, making her brothers laugh quietly.

"I think someone's tired." Leo teased, making Kayla blush and lean her head once again on his shoulder.

"Ya need anything b'fore ya hit da sack?" Raph offered, pushing himself off the side of the doorway. Kayla shook her head, her eyes closed. "Alright. G'night sis."

"Night Raph." Kayla murmured sleepily before Leo gently laid her back in her bed, pulling her covers up around her shoulders. He stayed with her for a few moments, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and rubbing her back.

When he got up to leave her to sleep he heard the sheets rustle.

"Leo." a quiet voice mumbled. "Stay." her voice changed to a slight whine on the second word, making him chuckle quietly. Kayla used to be so scared after her nightmares that he'd have to stay with her the rest of the night, but she hadn't asked that since she was about fourteen or fifteen.

"Only for you, little sis." Leo answered before getting in the bed.

As soon as he lied down Kayla curled into his chest, tucking her head under his chin. Leo smiled as he cradled his little sister in his arms. He might not have missed watching her suffer through the nightmares, but he certainly did miss this.


	5. Chapter 5

Kayla stuffed her hands deeper into her jacket pockets, feeling the crisp autumn air slice through her clothes.

"Why did we have to get here so early?" Katie whined as she buried her mouth and nose deeper in the collar of her own jacket.

"Because Alana's our ride and she had to get here early." Kayla answered.

It was the Friday after Kayla and Marcus' trip to Coney Island, and Kayla and Katie were sitting in the bleachers of the football field. The game wouldn't start for another half an hour but Alana was in the band, and she was their ride. Kayla wasn't really into football, but Marcus had pretty much begged her to come to at least one game this year, after all this was her last year as a high school student and his first year on Varsity.

Katie seemed to get bored with the awkward silence so she decided to talk. "So, are you ever going to tell us when and how Marcus found out about the guys?"

Kayla sighed. She'd told her friends that Marcus met her family, and told Marcus that Alana and Katie knew about them as well. Her friends desperately wanted to know what happened, but she didn't know how much she should tell them. Her family had pointed out that if too many people knew about the Foot Clan being back in business the Foot might decide to…eliminate a few loose ends.

"Katie, I already told you; I don't know how much I can tell you. I promise I'll tell you sometime, just not yet."

"Fine." she sighed back. "Can you at least tell me why you were so set against having a sleepover at either me or Alana's place tonight?"

Kayla rolled her eyes, Katie was way too curious for her own good. Since the nightmare she had Saturday night she had another one Thursday night. Her brothers didn't know how predictable her nightmares were going to be this time around so they decided it would be for the best if she didn't sleep away from home for a while. So when Alana thought it'd be fun to have a sleepover after the football game Kayla had said she'd only be able to do it if it was at her own place.

"I couldn't sleepover at either of your guys' places because…I'm not allowed to." Kayla finally answered. That wasn't a total lie.

"But why?" Katie persisted. "Did you get grounded?"

"Katie." Kayla whined.

"Okay fine, but I will get the answers out of you, one way or another." she promised, making Kayla smile and shake her head.

When the game had finally started and was underway Kayla and Katie both had bought a hotdog and Kayla bought a French vanilla cappuccino while Katie got a coffee. As Kayla ate her food she scanned the field, trying to find Marcus. He told her he was number 65 and one of the running backs. She finally spotted him running with the ball. He threw the ball to one of his teammates just as someone from the other team tackled him.

About ten minutes into the game Kayla didn't realize she was smiling as she watched the game.

"Why aren't you watching the game?" Katie asked lightly.

Kayla looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about? I'm watching the game."

"You're watching Marcus, not the game." Katie pointed out teasingly.

"Well, he's the only friend I have on the team." Kayla stated, pretending she didn't know what her friend was implying.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Kayla glared at her friend briefly before turning her attention back to the game. Someone, Kayla guessed it was Brady, just got tackled and the teams were splitting up to get back into the starting position. On the far side of the field she saw number 14 from their team getting in the face of someone from the other team. She remembered from looking at the many football posters lining the walls of their school that number 14 was Alex.

The attention of everyone in the stands was drawn to the argument as Alex shoved the other player, causing the two to fight. The other player merely shoved him back while Alex threw a punch, managing to hit his opponent under the jaw. Several people from both teams stepped up and pulled the two off each other.

The coach made the call to pull Alex out of the game for the rest of the night.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Katie asked rhetorically. Kayla didn't say anything, just watched as Marcus walked off the field after helping break up the fight, him and his friend shaking their heads, clearly annoyed at their teammate. When Marcus looked up he caught Kayla's eye. He smiled and waved at her, making Kayla do the same.

The rest of the game went by no more eventful than a normal high school football game, and Kayla was glad to see that Marcus was able to make three touchdowns himself, which was better than some of the seniors on the team. Nonetheless, their team lost by six points.

Kayla and Katie met up with the band, walking with Alana as they all went to carry their instruments back to the band room inside the school.

"Kayla!"

Kayla and her friends stopped and looked back to see a guy in football gear running toward them.

"Um, yes?" Kayla answered, not sure who this person was.

"Um, I don't know if you recognize me, I'm Ethan. We're in the same gym class." he answered. Kayla thought for a moment before she finally recognized him.

"Oh, yeah I remember. Um, so what's up?" she asked uncertainly, trying not to sound too rude, but she honestly didn't feel comfortable around Ethan.

"Well, homecoming is in a few weeks, and I was wondering if you wanted to go to the homecoming dance with me."

Kayla's eyebrows shot up in surprise, that was the last thing she expected him to say. "Um…" she glanced over her shoulder at her friends.

They were both nodding excitedly, mouthing things like, 'Yes!' or 'Go for it!'.

Kayla turned back to face Ethan. He had dirty blonde hair, green eyes, fairly tanned skin, and was what most people would consider handsome. But Kayla hardly knew the guy, and felt slightly uneasy around him, but that could simply be because she wasn't comfortable around new people. It couldn't hurt to step out of her comfort zone for a bit, could it? And it was only one dance, he probably wouldn't say a single word to her afterwards.

"Um…yeah, sure." she finally answered with a nod.

A cocky smile appeared on Ethan's face and he nodded his head at her. "Great. Well, I gotta go. I'll see ya on Monday."

"Um, yeah bye." Kayla waved shortly before turning to follow her friends to the school doors.

"Oh My Gosh!" Katie began freaking out. "You got asked out by Ethan Johnson! Do you know how many girls would kill for that?"

Kayla grimaced at her friend. "Okay, first of all; he asked me to one dance, we're not dating. And second of all; who said I was one of those girls? I don't even know the dude!"

Katie seemed to ignore her last comment. "Wouldn't it be awesome if you guys started dating?"

"Katie, I don't even know him. We're not gonna date." Kayla insisted.

"Yeah, Katie." Alana agreed seriously. "Kayla's not gonna go out with some random guy just cause he asked her to one dance. She's secretly waiting for Marcus to ask her out."

Kayla's head whipped around to glare at Alana, who was now smirking in amusement.

"Will both of you shut up so we can get outta here. And when we get back to my place, don't tell Raph about this. Or any of my brothers for that matter."

Her friends murmured in agreement as they entered the school.

Marcus took off his helmet and sighed, not happy with the loss. He looked up at the grandstands, his gaze seeking out one familiar face. Finally he saw her, walking with her two best friends with the band students. He could see her laughing briefly about something Alana said.

"Just ask her already." a familiar voice suggested from just behind him. Marcus turned to see his best friend, Tyler, grabbing his bottle of water off the bench to take a drink.

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked in confusion, using a hand towel to wipe sweat off his face.

Tyler nodded in the direction of the trio of girls. "Kayla. You've been going all goo-goo eyes over her since you met her last year."

"I have not." Marcus argued.

"Whatever. Just ask her out already."

"I can't just ask her out. She's my friend, that would just be awkward, and it could ruin our friendship."

"Quit making up lame excuses." Tyler told him. "Okay, ya know what, how about you just ask her to the homecoming dance? You can just go as friends. It wouldn't have to be awkward or anything, people go with their friends all the time."

Marcus looked at the ground. He knew that was true, people went to dances with their friends almost more often than they did with boyfriends or girlfriends. He looked up at Kayla, they were walking towards the school, probably so Alana could drop off her clarinet. He watched thoughtfully, debating if he should really ask her. As he was debating he saw Ethan leave the field and hurry in that direction, and Marcus' eyes widened in shock when he stopped to talk to Kayla.

She looked shocked by whatever he said to her. She glanced at her friends for a moment before turning back to him and nodding.

Tyler threw his arm over Marcus' padded shoulders. "Well, ya snooze ya lose, bud. Looks like Ethan beat ya to it."

Marcus looked at the ground, chewing on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. He tried not to show his disappointment. After all, if she readily said yes to Ethan, there was no way she would've said yes to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Kayla stared blankly out the car window as Alana followed the hundreds of other cars out of the busy parking lot.

"So, now that we're all alone in the car…" Katie started, making Kayla roll her eyes, "Tell us why you couldn't stay at one of our apartments, and how and why Marcus knows about the turtles!"

Kayla sighed and rested her forehead against the cool window for a moment before lifting it and looking at her two friends.

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes!" they both screamed.

"Alright, alright. Last Saturday Marcus and I went to hang out at Coney Island. We were riding some rides and stuff and then we got to the Ferris wheel and…"

"And what?" Katie pushed.

"We were attacked by some Foot ninjas." Kayla admitted quietly.

"The Foot?" Alana repeated, "I thought they helped you guys not that long ago. Why would they suddenly attack you like that?"

"I don't know." Kayla answered, not wanting to give up too much information. "Anyway I told Marcus to leave and not look back or anything. Raph and Leo ended up saving me. Then the Foot disappeared and we headed home. When we were in the sewers Raph caught Marcus following us, so we decided we might as well tell him what's going on. So Sensei told Marcus how they all got mutated and everything, basically the same story he told you guys; then I told him my story, about my mom and Shredder and everything. Then he really hit it off with my brothers, especially Mikey, who asked me if I could bring him back sometime." Alana and Katie laughed at that.

"Okay, so that's that answer, but that doesn't explain why you couldn't sleepover at my place or Alana's." Katie stated. Kayla turned around in the front passenger's seat to look back at Katie, who was sitting in the back.

"You are way too nosy for your own good, ya know that?" she asked rhetorically, which made Katie grin proudly. Kayla sighed as she turned back around. "Okay, I…after Leo and I dropped Marcus off at his place I went to bed around…probably one or two in the morning. I…I ended up having a nightmare."

The car was silent before Alana asked quietly, "Like the ones you used to get?" Kayla nodded. Another deadly silence followed.

"With the Shredder and everything?" Katie asked, making Kayla nod again.

"Yeah, my brothers weren't sure how frequent these ones are gonna be, so they figured it's for the best that I don't sleep away from home for a while, which I agree with. Besides, I ended up having another one Thursday night."

"Same one or a different one?" Alana asked quietly, unsure if Kayla was up for talking about it.

"The first one was of my brothers dying. The second one was…you guys." Kayla answered quietly. Alana felt a chill go up her spine.

Katie leaned forward so her head was between the two front seats. "Well, you don't have to worry about that, cause the Shred-head's history, remember?" she reminded Kayla, using the old nickname she'd heard Mikey use. Kayla just looked out the window and nodded, knowing she couldn't tell her friends what she feared.

Kayla blinked her eyes open, squinting a bit against the bright light of the TV screen. She was curled into a ball on her side with the recliner leaned back, her hands curled into her chest, and a blanket draped over her. She could make out the silhouettes of Alana and Katie both sleeping on the couch nearby, Alana's head resting on the arm of the sofa closest to the recliner while Katie's head rested on the other arm.

They'd stayed up until about three in the morning talking about anything that came to mind. Kayla and Katie found out that David, a boy in band with Alana, asked her to homecoming, which Alana obviously said yes to since she'd had a huge crush on him since they met in ninth grade. Katie had no interest in going to homecoming this year, having went freshman and sophomore year, and thought it was boring. She didn't go junior year for the same reason.

Kayla looked around the room to the clock on the far wall. It was about seven in the morning, her friends would be asleep for at least a couple more hours. She laid under her fuzzy blanket and stared at the floor as she thought about the previous night. 'Why did I say yes?' she thought to herself. She didn't even know Ethan at all apart from his name. Why did he even ask her? What made her stand out to him?

The sound of a foot scuffing the ground and the feeling of a presence behind her made Kayla look over her shoulder. Mikey was gazing around the sitting room. His bright blue eyes finally rested on her. He smiled slightly.

"Sorry," he whispered, coming closer to her so he wouldn't wake up her friends, "Didn't mean to wake ya."

"You didn't." Kayla whispered back as she rolled over to face him. "I've been awake for a bit."

Mikey's blue eyes narrowed in concern. "No nightmares, right?" he checked.

Kayla smiled and shook her head. "No, I just woke up. What about you? The only time I've ever seen you up before eight is either being forced awake for training by Raph," Kayla paused to let Mikey laugh quietly, "or for Saturday morning cartoons, which aren't on for another hour."

"Hey," Mikey pointed a finger at her, pretending to look threatening, "Do _NOT _dis the cartoons."

Kayla put her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter slightly. Mikey looked over at the couch where he could see Alana and Katie sleeping.

"Did ya tell em?" he asked casually.

"I told them about the Foot at Coney Island and about my nightmares coming back. But I didn't bring up…you know who." she whispered.

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, I don't think Leo or Sensei want'em worryin' about all that. Especially since they all think it's not possible."

Kayla nodded before looking up at him. "Mikey? Do you really think there's a chance he's still alive?"

Mikey looked at the ground for a moment, hands on his belt. "I don't know, sis. Maybe we're just being the over imaginative babies of the family." he smirked teasingly down at her. Kayla smirked briefly up at him before looking back at the ground. No matter what her brothers said, no matter how much they joked or tried to lighten the mood or change the subject, she still couldn't shake the doubt that seemed to cloud her mind.

'Maybe you need to meditate more often,' she thought to herself. The last time she'd meditated was Thursday afternoon. She really needed to meditate more often, she knew that. She felt something bump her shoulder and looked up.

"You think you girls would be up for some breakfast soon?" Mikey asked. "I was thinkin' about making some of my famous chocolate chip pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs. Sound good?"

Kayla nodded with a huge smile, that was her favorite breakfast in the whole world. To her, Mikey's breakfasts topped Ihop!

Mikey nodded and headed into the kitchen. Within half an hour the mouthwatering smell had wafted into the TV area, causing both Kayla's stomach to grumble loudly and her friends' noses to twitch.

Alana propped herself up on her elbow and looked around before looking at Kayla, who was staring blankly at the muted TV screen.

"You didn't say Mikey was making breakfast." Alana whined slightly, which made Kayla look at her and smile. "It's not nice to keep secrets."

"I didn't know." she answered simply, still smiling.

"Can we go get some?" Katie asked, still half asleep as she sat up and rubbed her face with both her hands.

"Yep." Mikey called from the kitchen. Kayla threw off her blanket and lead her friends into the kitchen, letting them get food first.

They all settled down side by side on the sofa to eat and turned up the TV slightly. Mikey continued cooking in the kitchen for the rest of the family.

"So…" Alana spoke after a while, "when do you plan on getting a dress for homecoming?"

Kayla paused, her fork halfway back to her mouth with eggs. She honestly hadn't thought about dress shopping once since the whole thing happened. She'd been too busy freaking out, and not in a good way.

"I don't know." she answered honestly, glancing at her friend. "I honestly didn't think of that 'til just now."

"Well, I have to buy one, too. Maybe we can go shopping together. Katie has to be home by noon, so I have to drop her off, maybe we can go after that." Alana suggested before putting another mouthful of eggs in her mouth.

Kayla grimaced slightly. She hated shopping. Then an idea occurred to her. "I can't." she stated, trying to sound disappointed, "I've gotta work at the shop today."

"No you don't." Don walked by, still tying his mask around his head since he just got up. "April called yesterday and said she was having some problems with her alarm. She asked if I could stop by to fix it, which means the shop's closed today and you've got the day off."

"Oh," Kayla looked at her plate, poking her food with her fork, "Yay."

"So, did all of you sleep alright?" Don asked, looking down at his sister.

Kayla smiled up at him and nodded. She knew by his tone and the look in his eyes that he was discreetly asking if she'd had any nightmares.

Alana nudged Kayla's elbow. "Sooo? Can we please go shopping this afternoon? We can even eat something while we're at the mall. Pretty please?"

Kayla sighed and couldn't help smirking at how much Alana was begging. "Okay, okay, fine!" she answered before thinking to herself, 'Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this?'

**I've decided I'm too lazy to get into too much detail over a shopping trip, I'm like Kayla like that, so instead the next chapter will be later the same night.**


	7. Chapter 7

Kayla flicked her bangs out of her face before tying her green ninja mask around her face, actually positioning it across her eyes like her brothers for a change. She gazed at herself in the mirror for a bit, debating if she should put her hair up for tonight. Her hair had grown quite a bit over the last couple years, coming down to about the middle of her back. And as much as she loved how it looked it could sometimes be a hassle, especially with patrolling and training; always getting in her face unless she put it up. She'd been thinking about getting at least a few inches trimmed.

Deciding to just do a simple braid, Kayla grabbed a hair tie and braided her hair quickly before hurrying out of her bedroom. Her three oldest brothers were grouped near the entrance. Kayla grabbed her bow and quiver by the couch, slipping them over her shoulder as she joined them.

"Sorry." she muttered as she stood by Don in front of Leo and Raph.

Raph shrugged. "We're waitin' on Mikey. He's busy takin' a dump." Kayla pursed her lips trying not to laugh while Leo gave him a look that said 'seriously?'.

"You're nearly twenty-one, Raph. How bout showing a little tact?" Leo suggested as he leaned back on the wall beside the entranceway.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Raph mocked him, giving a sarcastic smirk. "He's busy making poo-poo." he replied back in a light teasing voice, enunciating his words and trying to sound like a little kid. Leo just rolled his eyes and smiled while Don and Kayla laughed.

"I'm here!" Mikey shouted as he ran towards them.

"Bout time." Raph answered as Leo lead the way out of the lair. Mikey hurried to walk beside Kayla.

"So, I heard the game didn't go so well last night." he commented. Kayla shrugged.

"Lost by six points." she confirmed.

"Yeah, they lost. Big shocker." Raph remarked over his shoulder.

"Hey, our team's not that bad."

"Right, how many games did they win last year?" Raph smirked back at her.

"That's besides the point." Kayla crossed her arms. "I'll admit last years Varsity sucked, but last years JV was actually pretty good, and a lot of them are on Varsity now, so our team's actually a lot better."

"Really? Well, how many a' the new guys actually managed to make a touchdown last night?" Raph asked.

Kayla thought for a moment. She didn't pay that much attention to who scored, "I can't remember. All I remember is that Marcus managed to score three touchdowns."

"Reeeaally?" Mikey teased. "So what you're sayin' is…you only paid attention to Marcus during the whole game." the tunnels echoed with laughter as her four brothers laughed at her expense.

Kayla knew she was blushing furiously, but hid it by shoving Mikey in the shoulder and racing ahead of her brothers. "Last one to the rooftop smells like Mike's feet!" she shouted back as she made it to the bottom of the ladder. When she climbed to the top she pushed up on the manhole with all her strength, shoving it off to the side. Just as she was about to jump up out of the sewers Leo leapt up past her and raced toward the nearest fire escape.

Kayla hurried after him with Raph, Don, and Mikey on her heels. Don used his bo staff for leverage to shoot himself to the second floor like in pole-vaulting.

"Show off!" Mikey shouted before the last three leapt after them. The red and orange masked turtles managed to pass Kayla. So, when they were on the last fire escape before the rooftop she leapt as far as possible until she landed on Mikey's shell and propelled herself onto the rooftop. She landed and stood straight before holding out her arms and bowing as Don and Leo, who were waiting on the roof, applauded.

Raph landed by her before Mikey landed next to him. "Well Mike, looks like you smell like your own feet." he commented, smirking and giving Kayla a high five.

Mikey stuck his tongue out at them. "Only cuz you guys cheated." he accused them immaturely before running after Leo and Don, who had already begun racing across the rooftops.

For the first three hours of the night they stopped two muggings and a store robbery.

They stopped for a bit, Mikey and Kayla sitting cross-legged with their backs leaning against the ledge while their brothers leaned over the ledge to look down in the streets below.

"Looks like another slow night, guys." Don commented as he leaned on his bo staff.

"Aw. I was lookin' forward ta poundin' a few mo' heads." Raph scowled at the busy streets.

A breeze blew by, causing Kayla and Mikey's heads to snap up. "Uh, looks like you'll get your wish there, Raphy boy." Mikey announced nervously as he and Kayla stood up and readied their weapons.

Their three brothers looked back before completely whipping around and holding their own weapons, the five now standing in fighting stances.

Standing before them were about two dozen Foot ninjas. Kayla pulled out an arrow and aimed it, waiting for the Foot to make a move. She scanned the ninjas in front of her. She couldn't see Karai, but that didn't mean she wasn't here, she just wasn't in this group. This was just a plain group of Foot ninjas, no leaders or higher-ups standing among them.

Kayla narrowed her eyes, waiting tensely with her brothers for a fight to break out, she didn't see Leo glance nervously at her.

"So, what's the plan Leo?" Don asked quietly so only they could hear him.

Leo narrowed his eyes determinedly. "Wait for them to make the first move, then take 'em out." he ordered.

There wasn't an ounce of movement for nearly a minute and Kayla could feel Raph getting restless beside her, clearly itching for a fight.

Almost like a black wave, the Foot surged forward as one, falling upon them like a tsunami. Kayla shot the arrow she had aimed and it tore through the sleeve of one of the ninjas, leaving a cut in his arm. However, the ninja was unfazed as he slammed into her, sending her flying back.

Kayla landed on her upper back and shoulder blades, siding across the rooftop before she managed to black flip and land on her feet, her bow in both fists. The same ninja, along with another one, rushed her from two sides.

Kayla back flipped high into the air and landed right on the ledge of the building, raising her bow to block the katana that was swung at her. She then spun on one leg, using her other leg to kick one ninja away from her. As a couple more ninjas stepped forward to corner her she glanced over their heads to see a Foot ninja kick Mikey hard in the plastron, sending him flying back until he slammed into the ledge.

"Mikey!" Kayla screamed. Two ninjas were approaching him and her other brothers were busy fighting at least three ninjas. She quickly glanced at the ninjas still closing in on her. It was a long shot, but she had to try. Kayla took a deep breath before pushing off with her legs, flying through the air over the heads of the five ninjas who'd cornered her. She landed in a somersault that she was sure would leave a bruise on her right shoulder blade. She stood and raced across the roof to where Mikey was hunched over against the ledge, two Foot ninjas approaching him, katanas raised.

Kayla leapt into the air and spun her leg around, knocking one of them in the head. She landed and took a stance between the other ninja and her injured brother. Kayla's bow shot up above her head the same moment the katana came down towards her head. She gritted her teeth and her arms quivered as the ninja put more force down on her.

Kayla glanced around as she tried to think of a way out of this. Her strength was giving out quickly. Suddenly, she turned slightly, bringing her bow around. This caused the ninja to stumble forward, landing slightly on her back. Using all her strength, Kayla flipped the ninja over Mikey's head and over the ledge.

As the ninja fell off the building Kayla dropped to her knees by Mikey, exhausted. She grabbed Mikey's shoulder, tilting her own head to the side to try and see his face.

"Mikey? Michelangelo? Are you okay?" she asked, shaking his shoulder a bit.

Mikey groaned in pain, scrunching up his face. He slowly blinked his eyes open and looked around before looking at Kayla. "Ow." he said bluntly, "That hurt."

Kayla chuckled and closed her eyes, the relief evident on her face. She shook her head. "Knucklehead. Are you hurt, seriously?"

Mikey looked on the floor around himself. "Uh, I think I'm okay." he started as he tried to stand up, grabbing the ledge to push himself up. He gasped and dropped back against the ledge. "Nope. Nope, I take that back. I think I messed up my shoulder." he announced as he rubbed his left shoulder and grimaced.

"Kay!" Kayla looked over her shoulder to see a few ninjas racing towards her, Raph running behind them in an attempt to stop them.

Kayla stood in a fighting stance in front of Mikey, ready to protect him if they were to attack him. It would be dishonorable if they attacked Mikey while he was injured, but at that moment Kayla didn't trust the Foot to be honorable.

In a second Kayla had two arrows aimed together, and she shot them. One arrow hit a ninja in the thigh, causing him to scream in agony. The other one barely missed the second ninja. He reached her and swung his katana near her head. Kayla ducked down, swinging her arm towards his head, trying to punch him.

He knocked her hand away and swung his own fist at her face, punching her on the left cheekbone. Kayla flew back and landed sliding on her shoulder. She groaned and propped herself up on her left elbow when she saw a shadow fall over her. She gasped and looked up over her shoulder to see a Foot raising his katana over her head.

There was a crunch as Raph hit the ninja in the back of the neck, causing the ninja to drop lifelessly to the floor. Raph looked down at his sister, breathing heavily.

"Ya okay?" he asked breathlessly.

Kayla swallowed and nodded as she pushed herself into a sitting position, pressing her right hand over her left eye and cheek, trying to make the burning sensation go away. She knew that punch would leave a bruise.

She looked up to see the remaining Foot ninjas closing in on them, surrounding them from all sides. Kayla stood and took up a fighting stance beside Donny, shielding Mikey from any ninjas who aimed to strike him.

All heads turned as one as the distant sound of sirens blared, gradually getting louder as they came closer. One ninja at the head of the clan threw a smoke pellet. When the smoke cleared the Foot was gone, even the ones that had been unconscious.

"We gotta get out of here." Leo stated as he headed toward the edge of the rooftop. Don helped Mikey stand up, allowing his little brother to lean on him. When the group reached the alley below Leo lifted the manhole cover, leading the way down into the sewers. Don lowered Mikey down to Leo before following. Kayla went next, followed by Raph last, who moved the manhole cover back in its place.

As soon as they reached the lair Donny went to the kitchen and began passing out ice packs. Kayla took off her mask and took out her braid, running her hand though her long hair to smooth out the curls left by the braid. She took the ice pack Don offered her and placed it over her eye, sitting at the kitchen table with her elbows on the tabletop. Raph came and sat next to her, wrapping a bandage around his upper arm where he'd been cut.

"So, what'd ya buy at da mall?" he asked casually, but Kayla knew him better than that. He was trying to make it seem like he was making conversation when in reality he was being his usual overprotective self. But Kayla could be just as stubborn as him.

"Nothin'." she answered dully.

Raph glanced at her from the corner of his eye, still wrapping his arm. "I saw ya bring home a big bag. Ya sayin' it was empty?"

Kayla sighed deeply through her nose to buy herself time to think. What could she say? 'I bought a dress for the homecoming dance'? Nuh uh, no way. One thing she COULD NOT talk to Raph about was high school dances. Especially if a guy happened to ask her to one.

Kayla tried not to smirk as an idea popped into her head. "I needed some new underwear. That a crime?" she asked sarcastically.

She could see Raph furrow his eye ridges, trying to hide his embarrassment by acting confused, but it was hard to miss the red tint appearing across his cheeks.

"No. I was jus' askin'." he answered. He clipped his bandage before getting up and leaving the kitchen.

Don smirked at her over his shoulder. Mikey was sitting on the kitchen counter while their purple-masked brother was putting Mikey's arm and shoulder in a sling.

"Nice save." the brainiac complimented her.

"I've not the slightest clue what you're talking about." she answered sweetly as she stood and headed to her room. She could hear Don's laugh following her out of the kitchen.


	8. Chapter 8

"Not again." Leo groaned as he jumped out of his bed, throwing his blanket to the floor, and racing out of his bedroom. Kayla's piercing scream echoed through the old subway station, sending chills down Leo's spine.

When he neared his sister's bedroom he saw Don and Mikey standing by the door waiting for him, both looking anxious, and Raph leapt down from the second floor to join them. None of the four turtles were wearing their gear or masks since it was the middle of the night. Leo passed them and raced right to Kayla's bed.

"Kayla! Wake up, it's just a nightmare!" Leo shouted urgently, gripping her shoulders and shaking her slightly. Kayla gasped and bolted up into a sitting position, her eyes wide and scared with tears streaming down her face.

Leo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. Kayla immediately buried her face in his shoulder and curled her hands into her chest as her body was racked with sobs and shakes. Leo couldn't tell if the shaking was caused by fear or her crying. He just held her to him, rubbing her back with one hand.

He could see his brothers standing just outside the doorway looking in. Raph looked pissed off, Mikey looked scared, and Don looked concerned. Leo knew they hated it when Kayla had her nightmares, they always had. Mostly because they never knew what to do to help her, for some reason he was the only one Kayla would respond to in this condition. So their brothers always felt guilty that they couldn't help their sister.

Don sighed before looking at Kayla's alarm clock by her bed and heading towards his bedroom. They had decided to keep track of Kayla's nightmares; what nights she had them, what time, and unfortunately what they were about. Don, like all of them, hated having to ask Kayla what happened in her nightmares as much as she hated talking about them.

After a good ten minutes Kayla had calmed down enough that she wasn't sobbing. By that time Mikey had dozed off on the sofa, but Raph had stubbornly stayed where he was in Kayla's doorway. Leo leaned back and looked down at Kayla, but she kept her head down and hid her face behind her long black hair.

"Kayla, I know you don't wanna talk about it. But we need to know so we can try and find out what's causing this." Leo whispered pleadingly.

Kayla ducked her head lower, turning her head slightly to face the wall. "We all know what's causing it, Leo." she retorted quietly, her voice quiet and raspy from crying, "I don't see how Don's little experiments are gonna help get rid of them."

Leo sighed. "We're doing the best we can. Until we find out exactly why you're having them, we have no idea how to make them stop. Please?"

Kayla stiffened and began shaking again, hugging her arms around herself. Leo could hear her breathing quicken. He rested one hand on the side of her arm and took her hand in his other one, giving her silent support. Kayla took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I…The Shredder, he…he had me with his g-gauntlet to my throat. You were standing across from us. Just you. He said he was gonna…kill me…unless you switched places with me. I-I wanted to tell you not to, I-" Kayla broke down crying again, ducking her head so it almost rested in her lap, her whole back curving. Leo moved his hand from her arm to her back, rubbing it and trying to calm her down while still keeping a firm grip on her other hand.

Kayla took several deep breaths to force herself to calm down. She sat up a little bit, but still kept her face hidden. "I wanted to tell you not to switch with me, but I couldn't talk. Like in those dreams where you wanna run or talk but you can't. So you switched with me and…he killed you." she finished quietly, sniffing a bit. Leo looked towards the doorway where Raph was still standing. Raph was staring at Kayla, his golden brown eyes a mix of anger, pain, and regret. When he realized Leo was looking at him he looked up. He nodded once before leaving them alone to tell Donny what Kayla's dream was about, so she wouldn't have to repeat it.

Leo looked back down at Kayla. He could feel from his hand on her back that her breathing was still slightly uneven, but she was a lot calmer now. Leo brushed her hair back with his hand, tucking some of it behind her ear. He gently grabbed her upper arms and made her sit up straighter. She let him but kept her head ducked down, still hiding her eyes behind her bangs, which were too short to put behind her ear but long enough to cover her eyes if she let them.

Leo put his finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and he saw there was a bruise on her left cheek bone going up to the bottom of her eye. It was blue and purple with faded green around the edges. It still made him mad that she got hurt in that fight, but he knew that was part of their life.

Leo gently wiped a tear from the bruised area with his thumb, careful not to hurt her anymore than she was. He looked into her eyes. Fear and shame swirled in her deep brown irises.

"We'll get though this." he promised, gripping her hand tighter. She looked up at him, her watery eyes still had fear and a bit of doubt in them, but she nodded nonetheless and smiled nervously up at him.

There was a quiet knock on the door, making Kayla and Leo look over. Don was standing in the doorway.

"Kay, I know you've had a pretty big weekend, especially with the fight last night and now tonight. Sensei said you can stay home from school tomorrow if you want, so you can sleep in instead of going to school. It's up to you."

Kayla thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes please." she whispered, her voice a little hoarse. Don smiled gently at her before leaving the room to go to bed.

The next morning Kayla stretched as she blinked open her eyes. Her clock said 9:24 am. She was debating whether to get up now or stay in bed for a few more minutes when her stomach grumbled loudly.

"Guess that answers that." Kayla joked as she rolled out of bed. She gasped slightly and started hopping from one bare foot to the other. "Cold, cold, cold." she chanted as she hopped towards her bedroom door.

Her feet finally got used to the cold, brick floor as she made her way to the kitchen. She quickly poured herself a bowl of cereal and began eating it at the table. She could hear the noises of her brothers training in the dojo. Master Splinter must've excused her from training for the day also.

As she was finishing up her breakfast she heard her brothers heading towards her, talking among themselves.

"We'll head out about ten, see what we can see by sunup." Leo was telling his brothers.

"What if we don't see any Foot?" Mikey asked curiously.

"Then we'll pound any otha' dirt bags we see to a pulp." Raph answered back.

"We could try checking out that old warehouse on Ladman Island where Foot headquarters was when we first fought the Shredder." Donny suggested.

"But didn't the cops clear that place out?" Mikey argued.

"That was five years ago, moron." Raph pointed out.

"Enough. We'll check that place out, too. It couldn't hurt." Leo finally decided as they turned into the kitchen.

"Can I come too?' Kayla asked as she put her bowl in the sink.

The four brothers stopped dead, clearly not expecting her to be listening. Leo quickly composed himself and glanced at his brothers before looking at Kayla. "Sorry Kay, it's a school night. You know the rules."

"Aw, come on Leo, please? It's just one night. I'll be fine." Kayla pleaded.

"Sure ya will, just like the otha night." Raph remarked sarcastically, crossing his arms.

Kayla glared at him. "Hey, at least I held my own in that fight."

"Yeah, that's why I had ta save ya." he shot back.

"It's not like I asked you to save me. And anyway I had to back Mikey up when he messed up his shoulder."

"Kayla, you're already missing school today. We can't let you miss school tomorrow just because you're tired after patrol." Don pointed out.

"Then I won't miss school. I'll go and I won't argue. Please?" Kayla begged.

Leo shook his head. "I'm sorry Kayla, but no. With the Foot being back in action and we don't know what their plans are we just can't risk it."

Kayla gritted her teeth, her fists shaking by her sides. "That's a lame excuse, Leo, and you know it!" she shouted before she ran to her room and slammed her door shut. She slumped her back against the door and took deep breaths to calm herself down. She knew her family wanted to protect her, but she was seventeen. She'd be graduating soon. They'd have to let her do things on her own sooner or later.

(I'll Try- Jonatha Brooke)

_I am not a child now_

_I can take care of myself_

_I mustn't let them down now_

_Mustn't let them see me cry_

_I'm fine_

_I'm fine_

The thought of graduating made Kayla look over at her desk. Sitting on the space next to her computer was a small pile of letters from colleges. Even though she wanted her family to give her a bit more freedom the thought of graduating and leaving her family made her feel sick and tears prick her eyes.

_I'm too tired to listen_

_I'm too old to believe_

_All these childish stories_

_There is no such thing as faith, _

_and trust, and pixie dust_

Kayla took another deep breath before moving across the room and plopping down on her bed, crawling up to hug her pillow to her face. She could feel some tears wet her cheeks and pillow as she rubbed her face across the pillow. When she laid her cheek on the pillow she looked down at the floor by her bed. She furrowed her eyebrows as she saw an old-looking book barely peaking out from under her bed. She leaned down to grab it and pulled it out.

_I try but it's so hard to believe_

_I try but I can't see what you see_

_I try_

_I try, I try_

It was the photo album Raph had put together for her as a present their first Christmas without Leo. She hadn't looked at it since the beginning of spring about seven months back, and a thin layer of dust had gathered over the cover. Kayla blew the dust off and opened the cover to the first page.

_My whole world is changing_

_I don't know where to turn_

_I can't leave you waiting_

_But I can't stay and watch the city burn_

_Ooh, watch it burn_

In the four pictures on the first page she was a baby. One was of Leo feeding her, one was her sitting in Donny's lap while their brothers crowded behind them, the third one showed Kayla sleeping in her basket with an old teddy bear in her arms, and the last one showed a three-year-old Raph asleep on a pile of blankets with Kayla sheltered under his arm.

_Cause I try but it's so hard to believe_

_I try but I can't see where you see_

_I try_

_I try_

_I try and try_

_To understand the distance in between_

_The love I feel_

_The things I fear_

_And every single dream_

Kayla smiled as she turned a couple pages. She laughed a bit when she saw some pictures from her brothers' fifth birthday party. Mikey had decided to try making a cake, so in one picture almost his entire body was covered in flour.

_I can finally see it_

_Now I have to believe_

_All those precious stories_

_All the world is made of faith,_

_And trust, and pixie dust_

Kayla flipped through a few more pages and stopped when she saw pictures of when she was in her early teens. One picture was of her, her brothers, and Casey swimming in the pond at April's old farmhouse.

Kayla grimaced a bit. The memories from April's farmhouse were bittersweet. They did have good memories there; training, playing, hiking, having that campfire where Splinter spoke to all of them through a vision. But there were also bad memories too; like that Raph was basically in a coma for several days and that Splinter was being held captive by the Shredder.

_So I'll try cause I finally believe_

_I'll try cause I can see what you see_

_I'll try_

_I'll try_

_I will try_

_I'll try_

_To fly_

Kayla shook her head to shake herself out of her daydreaming. She looked up and found herself looking at the pile of letters on her desk. She looked back down at the pictures in the photo album. Her family had been through a lot in their lifetime, and the thought that she was just making things harder for them made her feel guilty.

Raph was right. If he hadn't killed that Foot ninja when he did she wouldn't be alive. She was just a burden to them, they would've been perfectly fine last night without her there. And her nightmares always make them loose sleep and worry about her, all because she can't control her fear of her father.

Kayla took a deep breath. She needed to grow up and fight her own battles, no matter how scared she was or what her brothers said. When it came down to it; she'd give her life for her family.


	9. Chapter 9

Kayla shook her head slightly to make her hair fall so it slightly covered the left side of her face and her left eye. She'd tried using cover up makeup, which she never did being a tomboy, but the bruise was still faintly visible. She knew she'd be answering the same question about a hundred times today: 'What happened to your eye?'

Kayla grabbed a few books from her locker before closing it. She turned to walk down the hall, almost not noticing Marcus and two of his friends Braden and Tyler.

"Hey Kayla." Marcus greeted with a small wave. Kayla stopped and smiled at him as she waved back.

"Hey." she answered as the three Juniors approached her. Marcus was wearing a green T-shirt and blue jeans, his black hair slightly ruffled and brown eyes bright. On his right Braden was a couple inches shorter than him, a bit pudgy with paler skin and light brown hair. On Marcus's left stood Tyler, who was black with short black hair and brown eyes, a bit more muscular than Marcus, who was pretty well-built himself since he and Tyler were on the football team.

As usual Marcus had a bright smile on his face, until he noticed the bruise on her eye. "What happened to your eye?" he asked worriedly. Kayla grimaced and refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing he was just concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing." she answered confidently. Marcus raised an eyebrow at her, clearly not believing her answer. Kayla sighed. "It's not that bad, I promise. I'll, uh…tell you later."

"Okay, why weren't you in school yesterday?" Marcus asked, sounding doubtful of her answer.

Kayla glanced anywhere but at him. "Again: I'll tell you later."

Tyler smirked good-naturedly. "What, you don't trust us?" he asked teasingly, gesturing to himself and Braden.

Kayla looked at her feet as she blushed in embarrassment. She really didn't know Marcus's friends that well, though they didn't seem too bad. Tyler was in her Anatomy class and actually seemed pretty smart.

"Well, I doubt you'd wanna hear my boring story." Kayla answered lightheartedly with a shrug.

"Alright, alright we can take a hint." Braden answered with a smile.

Kayla rolled her eyes with a smile of her own. "I gotta get going. I'll see ya later Marcus." Kayla said as she continued walking down the hall, the three boys going the opposite direction.

XXX

A couple hours later Kayla stood in the gym waiting with Alana. Kayla was wearing short, black running shorts and her white swim team T-shirt. Alana was also wearing running shorts, but they were blue, and she was wearing her black band T-shirt. Kayla nodded her head to the side, gesturing for Alana to follow her away from the small crowd of gym students. Marcus, standing among his own classmates, noticed and followed them.

When the three friends were several meters from the others Marcus and Alana looked expectantly at their friend.

"So? What happened?" Alana demanded, her voice barely louder than a whisper in case anyone was listening.

"Was it one of your brothers?" Marcus asked in concern. Ever since he met her family he'd been learning quite a bit about them and hanging out with them regularly, often chilling down in the lair with them. Master Splinter even let him sit in on a training session a couple times. Kayla also explained to him that sometimes they tended to get minor injuries in training, though sometimes they weren't so minor.

"It wasn't my brothers." Kayla answered quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.

"But it was a family thing." Alana guessed.

"Obviously." Kayla answered before sighing. "Okay, look, ya know how the Foot is back in action?" both friends nodded. "Well, as usual my brothers and I were on patrol Saturday night when we had a run-in with a group of Foot ninjas. Long story short I took a blow to the face. Not that big of a deal, I've had a lot worse." Alana and Marcus glanced doubtfully at each other.

"Alright," Alana finally spoke, "but that doesn't explain why you weren't in school Monday."

Kayla crossed her arms and looked over and at the ground, biting her bottom lip. She sighed deeply through her nose. After several moments of silence she looked up at her two friends. "I had a nightmare Sunday night. My father thought it'd be best for me to stay home Monday."

Marcus and Alana glanced at each other again, both having similar pained expressions.

"What was this one about?" Alana asked gently, knowing that was a touchy subject for Kayla.

Kayla ducked her head completely, her chin to her chest, so they only saw the top of her head and her black hair was falling in front of her like a waterfall. After a moment she just shook her head briskly, showing she really didn't want to answer that question.

Alana gently patted her friend on the back before they headed back to their own classes.

XXX

Later that afternoon Kayla skipped going home and went straight to work. She parked her motorcycle in the alley by the Second Time Around before going in the alley doorway. As soon as she stepped inside the antique shop five pairs of eyes turned to meet her, four of them hidden behind colored masks. Kayla groaned as she shut the door.

"What are you guys doing here?" she groaned. She'd basically avoided her brothers all day Monday, staying in her room and meditating to try and come up with a few answers. She also came straight to work instead of going home for the same reason. Mostly because she was too embarrassed by her outburst the previous day to face them.

"We're just here talking to April." Don answered with a shrug, not showing any ill-feelings towards her.

Kayla glanced around and saw that the blinds to the windows were closed and the open sign was flipped around to show that the store was closed. Kayla rolled her eyes, put her bag behind the counter, and grabbed a broom to start working, not even giving her brothers a second glance.

"I think you guys should tell her what you saw." April suggested gently. Kayla didn't even acknowledge the comment, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground as she swept.

"Kayla." Leo spoke quietly, not using his usual 'Fearless Leader' voice for once. Kayla continued sweeping, not showing any sign that she'd heard him. "Kayla, look at me." Leo spoke again, his voice still quiet, but firmer and almost pleading. Kayla stopped sweeping and turned her head just enough to show that she was listening, but still hiding her face behind her bangs and hair.

Leo sighed, knowing she was going to be stubborn. "Last night on patrol we saw…a lot…of activity from the Foot." Kayla tried to make it look like she didn't care, but under the cover of her hair she narrowed her eyes and listened carefully. "We didn't confront them at all, but overall last night we heard they broke into a couple warehouses and stole from some gangs. We're still not sure what they're up to exactly, or who's in charge, but we plan on going out again tomorrow night. Master Splinter doesn't want us going out every night." Leo explained.

Kayla nodded and walked away to sweep behind a tall shelf so they couldn't see her, still not making any eye contact with anyone in the room. She could hear them talking quietly among themselves.

"Is she really still upset about not going with you?" April asked quietly.

"Certainly looks that way." Donny answered.

"She jus' needs ta get over it. It's not like there was a lotta action last night. She needs ta grow up." Raph retorted.

Kayla sighed as she started sweeping, trying to tune them out.

"Guess you can hear everything they're saying." a familiar voice commented, making Kayla jump slightly in shock. She quickly went back to sweeping, peaking slightly out from behind her hair enough to see her oldest brother watching her with his arms crossed, leaning his shoulder against the shelf. Kayla looked back at the ground and ignored him.

"Still mad at me?" Leo asked quietly. Kayla stopped sweeping and looked at the ground. She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Then why aren't you talking to anyone?" Instead of answering Kayla went back to sweeping, hoping he'd go away. She was embarrassed about snapping at her brothers on Monday, and too embarrassed to apologize and admit she was wrong. That's one way she was like Leo, never wanting to admit when she made a mistake.

"Kayla, look at me." Leo ordered firmly. Kayla stopped sweeping but didn't turn around. Before she knew what was happening a hand grabbed her left shoulder and spun her around. She stared at Leo's plastron, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Just please look at me." Leo whispered pleadingly. Kayla sighed before lifting her head slightly to look up at him. Leo looked into her eyes, noticing the guilty look in them.

"I'm sorry." she whispered before dropping her eyes again.

"For what?" Leo asked quietly, having an idea what she was talking about, but he wanted to hear her say it.

"For overreacting yesterday morning. It was immature. I just really wanted to go with you guys and I felt like you were treating me like a baby."

Kayla heard a quiet sigh from above her head before two strong arms wrapped her in a hug which she immediately accepted, dropping the broom and hugging back.

"I'm sorry we made you feel that way." Leo whispered as he rested his chin on her head. "But you know the rules. And with the Foot being back in action we can't risk you getting hurt when we don't fully understand their motives. You know it has nothing to do with your age. It's just that you're in school and we want to make sure you're able to focus to the best of your abilities in class."

Kayla nodded, pressing her face into Leo's shoulder briefly before pulling back and smiling gently up at her brother. Leo smiled down at her before ruffling her hair playfully. They both laughed quietly before Kayla grabbed the broom off the floor and followed Leo out from behind the shelf.

Mikey had his back to them, doing exaggerated hand motions as he described the fight from the weekend, while April was behind the front counter leaning forward with her hands on the countertop, and Don and Raph leaned back with their shells to the counter, both looking bored. Kayla grabbed Leo's arm to stop him. Leo stopped and looked at her questioningly.

Kayla put her finger to her lips, signaling to be quiet, and then pointed at a bucket full of water for moping that was right behind Mikey. Leo smiled and laughed silently to himself as Kayla handed him the broom and walked stealthily up behind Michelangelo.

Don, Raph, and April saw her and looked confused for a moment, but Kayla put her finger to her mouth again before picking up the bucket of water. April covered her mouth with her hand, Don smiled, and Raph gave her an devious smirk.

Kayla carried the bucket right behind her unsuspecting brother before-_SPLASH._

"Aaaahhh!" Mikey's piercing girl-scream echoed through the shop. He shook his head, his soaked mask-tails whipping around and splashing Kayla, who just laughed along with everyone else.

"Finally! Someone learns how ta shut 'im up!" Raph shouted, throwing his hands up and looking up at the ceiling.

Mikey looked back at Kayla, water still dripping from him. He was trying to glare at her, but the playful twinkle in his eyes and the smile he was trying to hide told her he thought it was funny. He nodded at her. "Touché." he complimented her as April threw him a towel from behind the desk.

"Nice job." Don complimented her with a nod.

"Thank you." Kayla said as she bowed, causing her brothers and April to laugh.

"So, this mean you're back ta talkin' ta us?" Raph asked, a small hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Kayla looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know…Maybe I'll just talk to my nice brothers-Oh wait! That wouldn't include you." Kayla grinned as Raph glared at her with a smirk on his face.

"Touché."


	10. Chapter 10

"Where do ya think you're goin'?"

Kayla jerked to a stop and grimaced, her hand not even two inches away from the entranceway. She slowly peaked over her shoulder, keeping a firm grip on her backpack strap.

"Uuumm…out?" she answered uncertainly.

Raph raised one eye ridge at her, his arms crossed commandingly. "'Out' huh? Out where?"

Kayla glared at him. "I don't have ta take this, Raph. Sensei said I could go so I don't need permission from you."

"Which only means it's someplace ya don't want me knowin' 'bout cause I'm not gonna like it." Raph pointed out. Kayla rolled her eyes, getting impatient.

"Fine, I'm goin' to April's. Happy?" Kayla snapped before making her escape, slipping out of the lair before her hotheaded brother could say otherwise. At least that wasn't a total lie.

After a good fifteen minutes Kayla knocked on April's apartment door. Not ten seconds later the door opened to reveal the familiar redhead, her green eyes bright and happy.

"Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna get here." she commented as Kayla stepped in.

"Yeah, I had a bit of a hold up, of the Raphael persuasion." Kayla remarked cynically, clearly annoyed at her brother.

April laughed. "I can imagine. I still don't get why you don't want them knowing though."

Kayla looked at her like she was crazy. "You've met my brothers, right? Raph would probably follow me and try to sneak into the dance."

April shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. So, where is it?" she asked teasingly.

Kayla rolled her eyes as she slipped her backpack off her shoulder, opened it, and pulled the dress out of it. April held it up and looked it over.

"I like it. Suits you." she commented before grabbing Kayla's arm and pulling her to the bathroom. After doing her hair and putting on light make-up April stepped out of the bathroom so Kayla could put on her dress.

"Okay, I'm ready." Kayla called before opening the door. Her black hair was in a low messy bun, her bangs straightened and hanging over her right eye, and longer strands framing her face in loose curls, which April had curled with her curling iron. The dress was a simple dress with a white, spaghetti strapped bodice, a black ruffled skirt that went down to mid-thigh, and a blue, silk strip just above her hip. She was wearing simple black flats since she hated heels.

"You look beautiful. I'm sure all the boys will stop and stare when they see you." April commented, which made Kayla blush in embarrassment. She glanced at the clock, which said 6:28. The dance started at 7:00. Kayla didn't feel comfortable with Ethan picking her up anywhere near home so they agreed he'd pick her up at a diner that was only a few blocks from the school and he'd drop her off there after the dance as well; April was going to drop her off at the diner and pick her up after the dance. Alana had wanted to go to the dance as a group made of Kayla, Ethan, Alana, and Alana's date David. Kayla honestly felt more comfortable with the idea and asked Ethan if he'd be up for it, but he declined. He actually seemed uncomfortable with the idea. So, despite her disappointment, Kayla told her friend they couldn't do it.

"We'd better get going. I'm supposed to be at the diner around 6:45." Kayla announced as she grabbed her jacket and pulled it on. April drove her to the diner, the drive was only about ten minutes long. When they pulled into the parking lot they sat in the car for a moment, Kayla looking out the window. She was suddenly nervous, her stomach was clenching and making her feel sick. April put a hand on her shoulder, making her look back at her.

"Are you okay?" April asked gently, her facial expression one of concern.

Kayla smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." April looked doubtful but nodded anyway.

"Alright. Well, call me if anything comes up. And have fun."

Kayla smiled as she got out of the car and looked back in the window. "I will. Thanks April."

As April drove off Kayla waited for only about five minutes by the front door of the diner before an almost new-looking, black Ford fusion pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of her. Someone opened the front passenger seat from the inside.

"Hey, come on." Ethan greeted her as he leaned back in the drivers seat. Kayla took a deep, silent breath as she climbed into the passenger seat.

Most of the car ride was filled with awkward silence with a few meager attempts at conversation. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, they parked in the high school parking lot. They both climbed out of the car and followed the already-gathering crowd to the front doors.

Kayla could've sworn she could see Ethan looking down at her legs out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't be sure. They followed the wave of high schoolers into the school, stopping by the coat rack so Kayla could hang up her jacket. Kayla took a deep breath as she felt Ethan take her hand and lead her into the gym where the pounding music was coming from. The entire gym was already filled with teenagers dancing, many of them in pairs bumping and grinding against each other. Kayla couldn't help but grimace at the scene, the idea of grinding never really appealed to her, in fact it was one of the reasons she avoided high school dances.

Kayla was snapped out of her observing as Ethan pulled her onto the dance floor by tugging her hand. She was pulled into the center of a large group of teenagers. She sucked in a nervous breath as he pulled her to him with his hands on her waist. Kayla paused a moment before hesitantly linking her hands behind his neck loosely. She was nervous for two reasons: one was that she still wasn't completely sure about Ethan. Two was that she'd never danced with a boy before.

"You look beautiful." Ethan told her smoothly, smiling a confident grin.

Kayla blushed and looked down. "Um, thank you." she wasn't sure what to think about his compliment. It seemed too confident to her, like it was practiced, or maybe she was just used to hanging out with shy people?

As they were slowly moving to the music Kayla couldn't help glancing around the crowded gym. She smiled when she saw Alana and David dancing on the edge of the crowd. Alana's eyes were closed as she rested her hands and the side of her head on David's chest while he held her to him with his arms around her waist. They looked so comfortable and at peace. Kayla wished she could feel like that. But she just felt…tense. No matter what she tried she still felt uneasy around Ethan. But seeing Alana with David…they looked like two pieces of a puzzle, fitting together perfectly. Okay, that sounds a little mushy, but it's true.

After a few minutes Kayla felt Ethan suddenly lean the front of his hip area against hers. She pulled away in shock, feeling extremely awkward, and she avoided looking at his face. She suddenly started feeling uncomfortably hot and claustrophobic.

"Um, I-I need to go to the bathroom." Kayla quickly made up an excuse as she backed away from Ethan and made her way through the crowd back to the entrance of the gym. Once out of sight she leaned her back against the wall and took a few deep breaths.

She knew this was a bad idea. She never should have agreed to this. She barely knew Ethan! And that stunt he just pulled gave her the creeps!

Kayla stayed in the hallway for a good five minutes before she started feeling better and dared to venture back into the gym. She scanned the crowd from the doorway, really hoping Ethan would be either gone or dancing with someone else. But he wasn't. She saw him talking with a couple other guys from their grade. But Kayla's eye also caught something else.

Marcus was near the edge of the crowd. His black hair was casually smoothed down and he was wearing a white dress shirt, a faded blue necktie, a black suit that was left unbuttoned, matching dress pants, and black dress shoes. Wow. He cleaned up nice. At that moment Kayla realized she's never seen him dressed up before.

But what surprised her more was that he was dancing with a girl. And she was beautiful. She was wearing a strapless pink dress that went down to just above her knees, her honey golden brown hair was curled and over one shoulder, and the lights seemed to make her skin glow.

Kayla blinked and felt her eyes widen slightly. She didn't even know Marcus was seeing anyone, he never said anything to her. Kayla then shook her head slightly and blinked again. Of course he didn't say anything, it wasn't any of her business. And they seemed perfect for each other.

Before Kayla could think anything else she felt someone grab her elbow and lead her back onto the dance floor.

Kayla danced with Ethan for the rest of the night, which was about two hours. They didn't talk much, she mostly just spaced out and stared at nothing while he lead her around the dance floor. When the dance was over Ethan drove her back to the diner, but just as she was about to get out of his car he grabbed her wrist. It didn't hurt but it was a bit harder than necessary. She looked back at him in surprise, standing partly out of the car and partly in.

"Wait. I had a really good time with you tonight." he started as Kayla went back to sitting in the passenger seat. She felt uncomfortable looking him in the eye so she looked at his shoulder as she listened to him. "And I was wondering if you'd wanna do it again sometime. Maybe we could give a, ya know, a relationship a try."

Kayla's head snapped up to look at him. 'Please let him be joking, let him be joking,' Kayla repeated over and over in her mind, but as she scanned his face he gave no sign of joking. He was serious?! Kayla didn't realize her mouth had dropped open slightly until that moment. She closed her mouth. "Um…" she had no idea what to say.

"Look, I get that we don't know each other that well, but I'd really like to give it a shot. Please?" his green eyes seemed to be boring into her and she felt like squirming but couldn't. True, she didn't know him that well, but isn't that true with everyone? You only get close to people you meet by getting to know them with time. So, maybe he at least deserved that chance.

Kayla took a deep breath. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I'd-I'd like that." she finally answered. A huge grin appeared on Ethan's face and he leaned across the car closer to her. Kayla breathed in quickly as he pressed his lips to hers. She'd never been kissed by a boy before so she had no idea what to do or think. It was only a few seconds before he pulled away.

Deciding to get out, Kayla forced a small smile. "I, uh, better get going. I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah, I'll see ya." he called as she got out and shut the car door.

Kayla stood by the front door of the diner and watched him pull out of the parking lot. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth.

"What have I gotten myself into?"


	11. Chapter 11

Kayla was seated on the floor of the lair near the entrance. She had her right foot tucked in while her left leg was stretched out and she was leaning to touch her toes. She heard footsteps and looked up.

Leo came hurrying toward her with their three brothers in tow. "Alright, lets go."

Kayla stood up and followed her brothers out of the lair so they could start their patrol. It was Friday night, a week since the homecoming dance. Kayla had told her friends about Ethan being her 'boyfriend' on Monday, and they seemed really happy for her, she only wished she could share their feelings.

It also turned out the girl Marcus had been dancing with at the dance was just a friend he went with since neither were in a relationship. When Kayla heard that she'd felt oddly relieved, though she wasn't sure why.

Things had been pretty normal for the first half of the week, she only really spent time with Ethan during passing time between classes and a bit before and after school. She would've preferred keeping their relationship quiet for at least a week, but half the school seemed to know about it before she even walked through the doors Monday morning.

Then, on Wednesday at lunch Kayla had been going to sit with her friends, just like any other day. Ethan saw her and had waved her over. She didn't know what to say so she pretended not to see him and sat with her friends. After lunch he went up to them and asked to talk to her alone. He then demanded to know why she didn't sit with him.

She had calmly told him she wanted to sit with her friends. Instead of listening to her he said that she would sit with him from then on. It made her mad, but she didn't know what to say. So she didn't say anything about it, she simply complied with his wishes. It's been like that since.

Kayla's thoughts were blown away when they reached the rooftop and raced across it, letting the wind blast their faces and blow their mask tails back.

They stopped for a brief breather on the corner of 3rd Avenue North. As they casually scanned the streets Kayla spotted movement across the busy street and stiffened.

"Guys." she whispered as she slapped Don's arm. Her brothers turned their attention to where she was looking. There were about half a dozen Foot ninjas leaping over the rooftops before they leapt into an alley.

Kayla and the three youngest turtles all turned to their leader, who nodded. They followed him across the rooftops until they leapt into the same alley. They saw that the ninjas had moved into a back alley behind the building, so they slinked through the shadows so that they were all pressed against the brick wall in a single filed line. Leo was closest to the corner, then Don, Raph, Mikey, and finally Kayla was last, much to her annoyance.

Leo peaked around the corner, spotting the Foot ninjas speaking quietly among themselves. He could just about make out what they were saying when there was a metal _CLUNK_ sound.

All four brothers snapped their heads behind them to stare at Kayla. She jerked at suddenly being the center of attention. She looked around behind her before looking back at them.

"Wasn't me." she whispered just loud enough that they could hear her. The four turtles furrowed their eye ridges in confusion. Leo turned back around to peak around the corner while Mikey walked around Kayla towards the dumpster behind her.

Leo sighed. "Well, they're gone. There goes one chance of finding out what's going on." he announced with a pointed look in Kayla's direction.

Kayla put her hands up. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm not the one who made that noise."

"Well, if it wasn't you than who was it?" Raph asked with his arms crossed, "You're the only one by the dumpster an' that's what it sounded like."

"Uh, dudes?" Mikey called uncertainly from where he had opened the dumpster lid and was peering inside, "ya might wanna see this?"

Kayla turned around and peaked in beside him. The dumpster was mostly empty apart from a few wrappers here and there, but there was one thing most dumpsters don't have.

Curled up in the corner nearest to them was a tiny kitten.

"Aw!" Kayla leaned into the dumpster and gently picked it up. It was so tiny she could cradle it in both her palms. "It's so tiny!" she cooed as she cradled it to her chest.

The kitten's bones jutted out of its small frame, its fur coat was so thin they could see its skin through the fur, and what fur it did have was a dirty brownish orange except on its mouth, paws, belly, and the tip of its tail; those were a dirty grayish brown.

Don moved closer to examine it. He felt its sides with his fingers. "It can't be any older than two months. It's just about starved to death." When Don moved his fingers across the kittens ribs it mewled pitifully and batted at his hand with its tiny paws, which were about the size of Kayla's fingers.

"Aw!" Mikey stepped in and took the tiny kitten from Kayla, cradling it in his arms like a baby. "He's so cute! Can we keep him?" he asked his brothers eagerly.

His three older brothers looked doubtful while Kayla just looked at them with an expression similar to Mikey's.

Raph was the first to speak. "Mikey, seriously? Ya can barely take care of yourself, an' now ya wanna try takin' care of another livin' animal? Forget it."

"Raph's got a point, Mikey," Leo pointed out gently. "Besides, this one is gonna need special care to get better. Maybe we should just take it to the Shelter so they can take care of it." Mikey looked at his brothers like he was about to cry.

Kayla spoke up, "Aw, come on, Leo. Please? I'll help him, I promise. I'm sure Sensei won't mind."

Leo still looked doubtful, until Don spoke. "If you want, Leo, I could make sure they take care of it. It's gonna need medical attention for a while, and I could help with that."

Leo looked conflicted, now being ganged up on by three siblings. Finally he sighed. "Alright, alright, fine. We'll take it home, but you two are responsible for it." he pointed directly at Mikey and Kayla, who both saluted him like in the army. Leo looked around. "Well, I think it's safe to say the Foot have vanished. We might as well head home."

Raph scowled for a moment. "You guys head back, I'm gonna meet up with Case. I'll see ya later." he announced before leaping up the fire escape.

Don opened the manhole cover in the alley and the four siblings leapt down into the dark, cold sewers below. Kayla immediately walked by Mikey so she could see the kitten, which was still cradled in his arms.

The kitten yawned and blinked open its tiny eyes, which glowed a yellowish green in the darkness.

"What are you gonna name him?" Don asked curiously over his shoulder from where he was walking ahead of them with Leo.

Mikey looked thoughtful for a moment. Finally he announced, "Klunk!"

Leo and Don glanced at each other in amusement while Kayla looked up at her brother in confusion.

"Klunk?" she repeated.

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, remember that noise he made in the dumpster? It was a clunk noise."

Kayla was thoughtful for a moment. "I guess that's true." she murmured before looking back down at the tiny kitten in Mikey's arms, its tiny tail flicking as it slept. "Klunk." she repeated quietly. Okay, she had to admit, it was a cute name.

XXX

**I'm sorry for such a short, uneventful chapter! I just wanted to get a little sidetracked and I **_**really **_**wanted to add Klunk to the story!**

***Klunk is not mine, he belongs to the creators of TMNT***


	12. Chapter 12

Kayla took a deep breath as she leaned against her locker. She'd been running around like a chicken with its head cut off lately between school, training, working, and hanging out with Ethan. Not to mention she'd lost a bit of sleep with nightmares. She had another nightmare the previous Friday after they brought Klunk home. It felt nice to just sit and take a breather. But like all things, it had to end.

She needed to head to class. She was about to head down the mostly empty hallway when she saw Alana heading towards her. She smiled. It felt like forever since she'd been able to actually talk to Alana.

"Hey," her friend greeted when they were face to face.

"Hey," Kayla answered back with a smile. "What's up?"

Alana shrugged. "Nothing much. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"I know. I've been thinking the same thing."

"Hey, you wanna hang out after school with me and Katie?" Alana offered.

Kayla grimaced. "I've gotta work. And after I get home I have to train and help Mikey take care of Klunk."

Friday night after they brought the little kitten home they gave him a warm bath to warm him up and clean him. He turned out to be a soft orange color with a white belly, feet, mouth, and tail.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you guys brought home a kitten," Kayla had told Alana about him briefly on Monday, the day before, "Katie wants to meet him, by the way." Alana announced with a huge smile. They both knew how obsessed Katie was with cats.

"Yeah, I'll have to have you guys over sometime to meet him, but it'll have to be a while. Don wants to wait 'til Klunk's healthier and more well-fed before we expose him to more people. He's still really thin."

As he promised, Don had been helping take care of the little kitten, but no one was taking better care of him than Mikey. Their orange masked brother had made a bed of blankets in a box for Klunk in his bedroom right beside his bed.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Alana agreed with a nod. "So, how about we hang out on the weekend? You can sleep over Saturday or something."

Kayla looked at the ground. "Um, I…I can't."

"Why?" Alana asked nervously.

Kayla refused to look up at her friend. "I'm supposed to hang out with Ethan this Saturday."

She heard Alana sigh, but it sounded more like a scoff. She tensed, waiting for what her friend was going to say.

"You hang out with him everyday at school, you eat lunch with him, too. Katie and I never see you anymore." Kayla could hear the anger and desperation in Alana's voice.

"I'm sorry." she mumbled weakly.

"Sorry doesn't exactly cut it, Kay. You've completely blanked us. I can't believe you're basically choosing a boyfriend that you barely know over your friends that you've known for, like, six or seven years."

"I'm not choosing him over you. I promise we'll hang out. I just…can't this weekend."

Alana was quiet for a moment and Kayla risked a glance at her face. It was full of surprise and anger, shaking her head slightly.

Finally, she spoke, her voice quiet and cold, "I wanted you to go to that dance with Ethan because that's all I thought it would be. A dance. A onetime thing. Something fun for you and me to do together, that's why I thought we could do a double date. I never thought that _you_ of all people would be the type to choose a short… boyfriend… over your best friends."

Kayla felt her eyes sting as her friend spoke.

"But if he's more important to you than the friends who've been by your side through everything, I guess all I can say is…good luck." there was none of the usual warmth in her voice before she turned and walked away down the hallway.

Kayla's eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open as she watched her friend walk away down the nearly empty hallway. Her vision went blurry as tears poured down her cheeks.

Two hands took her arms for a moment before someone put an arm around her back and lead her somewhere. The person sat her down on a bench and sat next to her, pulling her to his chest and she cried into it, her hands clutching his T-shirt.

"It's okay, Kayla. You know she didn't mean that. You guys have worked things out before, you'll do it again. It's gonna take more than this to tear you two apart." a voice whispered to her as a warm hand rubbed her back soothingly.

Kayla sniffed and looked up, seeing Marcus smiling gently at her, though he still looked sad. She smiled slightly for a second before hiding her face in his shirt again. She didn't know if this was okay, but she didn't care. Her chest hurt at the thought she'd just lost her best friend, but she also thought over Marcus's words. Alana and her had been through a lot together, maybe they could get through this, too.

After a few moments she leaned away and wiped her eyes of any tears. She blinked and saw a tissue being held up in front of her face. She laughed quietly before taking it from Marcus, hearing him laugh too.

"Thanks." she said quietly as she wiped her eyes and nose with it. She looked at it for a moment before looking up at Marcus in confusion. "You carry a tissue with you everywhere?" she asked with a smile.

Marcus shrugged with an innocent smile. "Well, you never know when you're gonna find a damsel in distress…or gum on your shoe." Kayla laughed and shook her head, resting her hands in her lap. "Actually, I stole it from my house cause none of the teachers ever have any in their classrooms."

Kayla tilted her head in a nod. "True."

They both stood up and she threw the tissue in the trashcan near them. She turned back and smiled at Marcus as they walked slowly down the hallway.

"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked her gently.

Kayla looked at the floor. "Um, yeah I'll be fine. Like you said, everything will work out." Kayla smiled up at him, trying to sound positive.

Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when someone called Kayla's name. They both looked behind Kayla to see Ethan waiting with his books under one arm. He nodded his head to the side, gesturing for Kayla to come with him.

Kayla sighed before turning back to Marcus. "Um, I…gotta go."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, well I'll uh…see you in gym."

Kayla smiled and nodded. "Yeah, bye." she turned and headed towards Ethan, who put his arm around her shoulder. She still wasn't at ease with this kind of gesture, but she just went with it. She noticed Ethan glare over her head and turned to see that he was glaring at Marcus, who pretended to ignore it as he turned and walked away.

Kayla narrowed her eyes in confusion. What did Marcus do to make Ethan mad at him? This was _so _confusing.


	13. Chapter 13

Kayla paused at the edge of the kitchen and looked across the lair. Marcus and Mikey were playing video games, something with shooting zombies. Kayla smirked and shook her head when she saw Marcus shove Mikey playfully, both absorbed in the action on the TV screen. She paused when she heard a couple voices around the corner.

"But what if she says no?" Casey's voice asked.

"Look, she's put up wit' ya dis long, what's gonna suddenly change her mind?" Raph pointed out.

"Gee, thanks." Casey remarked sarcastically, "You're a huge help."

"Don't sweat it, Case. Do it jus' like ya practiced. You'll be fine."

"Yeah…Okay, I'm gonna do it." Casey spoke determinedly as he walked past the kitchen.

"Don't screw up, Bonehead." Raph chuckled from where he stood by the kitchen entrance.

Kayla looked from Casey to her brother. "What's he gonna do?" she asked curiously.

Raph looked at her with a smirk before winking at her. "I guess you'll have ta wait an' find out, won't ya?" he teased. Kayla tried not to smile as she shook her head at him, but failed.

"Whatever," she sighed, "I'm gonna go to my room."

Kayla walked to her room, closing her door behind her. She gazed around her, trying to think of something to do. She stopped and her shoulders drooped when she saw a picture on her bedside table. It was a picture of her and Alana at a basketball game in middle school. They stood with their arms around each other's shoulder, the basketball court in the background.

It's been about two weeks since their argument and they hadn't spoken to each other since then. Kayla would be willing to talk to her if she wanted, but she didn't seem to even want to try. And it hurt Kayla to think that her best friend would just assume something about her like that, to think that she was completely happy spending all her spare time with Ethan.

Everyone seemed to think that she was so happy with Ethan, but she wasn't. He was always kissing her and touching her to the point she felt sick to her stomach, but her stupid pride forced her to keep her mouth shut about it. Seriously, how embarrassing would it be to admit to being that wrong about something?! She never should have gone to that one dance with him, now she was basically stuck, unless she could come up with a good reason and time to break up with him.

Kayla sighed as she sat cross-legged on the floor, grabbing her guitar and placing it on her lap, plucking it randomly. As she gazed at the old picture she realized her random strumming began to form a familiar tune. As she closed her eyes and started singing she didn't notice someone watching from her doorway.

(The Time has Come- Pokemon)

"_I close my eyes, and I can see_

_The day we met_

_Just one moment and I knew_

_You're my best friend_

_Do anything for you_

_We've gone so far and done so much_

_And I feel, like we've always been together_

_Right by my side, though thick and thin_

_You're the part of my life I'll always remember_

_The time has come_

_It's for the best I know it_

_Who could've guessed that you and I_

_Somehow someday we'd have to say goodbye_

_You've helped me find the strength inside_

_And the courage to make my dreams come true_

_How will I find another friend like you?_

_Two of a kind, that's what we are_

_And it seems like we were always winning_

_But as our team is torn apart,_

_I wish we could go back to the beginning_

_The time has come_

_It's for the best I know it_

_Who could have guessed that you and I_

_Somehow, someway we'd have to say goodbye_

_Somehow today we have to say goodbye."_

Kayla opened her eyes as she strummed the last chord in the song and looked at the floor.

"Hey." an all-too familiar voice spoke from her doorway. Kayla turned around in shock and stared at Alana.

"Hey." she said back quietly, still in shock. She lifted up her guitar and put it back on its stand.

Alana nodded to the guitar. "That was a good song. Kinda makes me think of graduation." she smiled gently, making Kayla smile back. Alana left the doorway and sat on the floor in front of Kayla.

"Marcus called me and convinced me to come over." she said quietly. Kayla blinked in surprise. She knew Marcus wanted them to start talking again, but she didn't expect him to do that.

"Would you have come if he hadn't of asked you to?" Kayla asked quietly.

After a couple moments of silence Alana answered, "Probably not at first, but I'm glad he convinced me. Though, I was kinda nervous about what your brothers would do to me." she admitted with a nervous smile.

Kayla smiled back before looking at the floor. "I didn't tell them. I didn't want them to make a huge deal out of it, and it would've lead to what the argument was about."

Alana narrowed her eyes in slight confusion. "You mean you still haven't told them about…him?"

Kayla shook her head and looked back at the floor. "No, I'm…afraid of how they'll react, especially Raph." In truth, Kayla was hoping to get out of her relationship with Ethan without her brothers ever knowing about it, but she didn't want to tell Alana that.

They were both quiet for a moment before Alana looked up at Kayla. "I'm really sorry for the things I said to you." she whispered.

"It's okay. I get it. I…was a jerk."

"No, if you have a boyfriend you should spend time with him. I've kinda come to realize that for myself."

Kayla blinked. "Wait…you and David?" she asked in excitement.

Alana blushed and nodded. "Yeah. We went on our first date last Saturday. We went out to dinner and then a movie."

"Aaaww." Kayla teased, making her friend blush more.

"Shut up." she muttered, unable to stop smiling.

Kayla grew serious again. "Yeah. But you still found time for Katie last week. Better than I did the past few weeks."

Alana shrugged. "Okay, yeah. You could've done a better job of that. But I could've done a better job of handling it than I did."

Kayla smiled sadly. "You'd think we'd be better at communicating after knowing each other for this long."

"You would think so," Alana agreed as she leaned back on her hands, "but today's society has taught our generation to be surprisingly stupid."

Kayla laughed at her friend's bluntness.

"Aaaww!" a familiar voice sounded from the TV area of the lair, making Kayla and Alana looked towards the doorway.

"I'm guessing that means Katie found Klunk." Alana guessed with a smile, which made Kayla laugh again.

"We'd better go make sure she doesn't try to smuggle him out of the lair or anything." Kayla joked as they both stood up and headed out the door, "Not that she could when she's surrounded by ninjas."

Mikey and Marcus were still sitting together on the couch, but instead of playing their game they were watching Katie, who was knelt in front of the couch playing with Klunk. The kitten was lying on the couch next to Mikey trying to catch the string Katie was waving in front of him.

It was easy to see how much healthier Klunk had gotten in the two weeks he'd lived with them. His belly was full and slightly plump, his coat had grown out and was now soft and downy like any other kitten's fur, and he'd started to develop a mischievous personality. Though thanks to his playfulness and tendency to get under everyone's feet Raph had dubbed him 'Mikey Jr.'.

When Alana and Kayla appeared behind the couch to watch Katie play with Klunk Marcus looked over his shoulder at them.

"So?" he asked curiously, making sure he didn't say too much because Kayla hadn't told her family about her fight with Alana.

Kayla and Alana both smiled widely at him as they put their arms around each other's shoulders. He smiled at them in relief with a nod before turning his attention back to the kitten everyone was watching.


	14. Chapter 14

_Kayla walked aimlessly, not knowing for sure where she was or why she was there. She was in a large, open field with grass that went up to mid-thigh height. Surprisingly, she was barefoot and wearing a simple, sky blue sundress that went to just above her knees and flared out from the waist._

"_Kayla." a quiet voice called, sounding almost like it was in her head. "Kayla."_

_Kayla whipped her head around. Across the field, a woman in a white dress was standing in front of the sun so that she took on an almost angelic appearance. Her wavy, brown hair took on a golden hue as the sunlight caught on the thick strands, the skirt of her white dress blew lightly in the breeze around her ankles, and her eyes were a warm brown nearly identical to Kayla's._

_Even though Kayla had never seen her in person she knew who she was._

"_Mom!" she called as she raced through the grass, her hair flying behind her. She slammed into her mother, her arms wrapping around her waist, since she was suddenly a little girl in the dream. She felt her mom run a hand through her hair._

"_My little girl." Aimi murmured as she continued stroking her daughter's hair. "I'm so proud of you, Kayla."_

_Her arms still wrapped around her mother's waist, Kayla looked up. "Why? What have I done that's so great? All I've done is be a huge burden to my family. They'd probably be better off without me."_

"_That's not true, Kayla. I left you with Splinter and his sons because I knew you'd be safe and loved with them, and they've proven that. Splinter has trained you to become a skilled, honorable warrior, just like I hoped he would." Aimi smiled gently down at her daughter._

_Kayla nodded. "He's the best Sensei and father I could imagine. I couldn't ask for anyone better. But I still feel like a burden to him and my brothers."_

_Aimi sighed as she looked down at her daughter. "You've been through so much. So much more than anyone should ever have to go through, especially one so young. You are stronger than you know, and you're not a burden to your family. They would do anything for you and they know you'd do the same."_

"_But they can hold their own in a fight. I always seem to need someone to bail me out." Kayla pointed out, looking up at her mother._

_Aimi was silent for a moment. "Do you see those trees at the edge of the field?" she asked suddenly. Kayla followed her gaze and saw a forest at the edge of the field. She nodded her head slowly._

"_Every single one of them stands alone, right?" Aimi asked. Kayla nodded, not sure where this was going. "Not necessarily."_

_Kayla turned back to look up at her mom, her face full of confusion. Aimi smiled at her before turning back to look at the forest._

"_The only thing keeping each tree in place during a storm are the roots that embed the tree into the ground. Without any roots the tree would fall in the slightest breeze, and with only one or two roots the same would happen. But because the tree has many roots all working together, it's able to withstand even the strongest of storms. Do you understand now?" Aimi asked quietly, leaning her head slightly to look down into her daughter's eyes._

_Kayla thought for a moment, trying to understand her mother's strange words, but she couldn't. She looked up at her mother and shook her head. Aimi smiled gently at her, brushing her bangs back out of her eyes._

"_A family is only strong when ALL of its members work together to face it's challenges."_

"_But they can take care of themselves in fights. I can't seem to do anything without needing help." Kayla argued, feeling helpless._

"_It may seem that way now, but one day you'll find a way to protect your family like they do for you."_

_Kayla looked at the ground thoughtfully before hugging her mom tightly, burying her face in her mother's chest._

_She felt so safe and warm in her mother's arms, like nothing could hurt her, that she closed her eyes in bliss._

_A loud clap of thunder made Kayla jump, her eyes shooting open. She looked around. She wasn't in the field anymore and her mother was gone. She was on a rooftop and it was dark, storm clouds gathering overhead with rain pouring down. _

_She looked around, walking forward a few paces. Her foot bumped something, causing her to look down._

_Lying on the ground before her was her brother Don, a sword sticking out of the back of his shell with blood pouring from the wound. _

Kayla screamed, shooting up into a sitting position in her bed, cold sweating dripping down her face. She sat in her bed, panting to catch her breath. She looked at her doorway as Leo rushed into the room and went straight to her bed.

"Kayla, calm down. It was just a dream." Leo rested one hand on her arm while brushing her bangs out of her eyes to get her to look at him.

Surprisingly, Kayla didn't go into a panic attack like she normally did. Only a few tears managed to slide down her face while she tried to catch her breath.

"Kayla?" Leo checked, unsure about what was going on. He wasn't used to her being this calm after a nightmare, though she was far from calm, just not as panicked as normal.

Instead of falling into his arms and crying like she normally does Kayla pushed her blankets away and climbed out of bed. Leo watched as she stumbled slightly, but made her way out of the room.

Her other brothers, who were all waiting anxiously like normal outside her bedroom, were shocked when she hurried out of her room and walked past them. She went straight to Master Splinter's room and knocked gently on the door.

"Sensei?" she called through the door, peaking through the crack. Splinter's ears twitched in slight surprise before he spoke.

"Enter."

Kayla obeyed and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She walked forward until she was in front of him before kneeling.

"I am surprised you are here, Kayla. You are normally quite distressed after your nightmares." Splinter pointed out. Kayla nodded before looking at the ground.

"Sensei?" Kayla wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want anyone knowing completely about her dream, but she needed to know what it meant, that her mother would visit her like that.

"I sense confusion clouding your mind, my daughter. Perhaps I may help you." Splinter suggested gently. Kayla smiled slightly before nodding. She took a deep breath before she continued.

"I-my dream was different than usual, Sensei." Kayla started uncertainly, pausing because she didn't know what to say. Splinter nodded his head at her to go on. "It didn't start as a nightmare. I had a dream about my mom."

Splinter's ear twitched in shock, his eyes wide. He calmed down and nodded for her to continue.

"She…she gave me some advice, and I know I should trust her…but I just find it hard to believe what she told me." Kayla explained quietly.

Splinter blinked and narrowed his eyes slightly. "And what, might I ask, did she tell you?" Splinter asked curiously.

Kayla looked at her lap thoughtfully. "She told me, um…She told me that she's proud of me and that I've become a strong warrior." Kayla explained quietly, staring at her lap so Splinter couldn't see her eyes.

There was silence for a moment before Splinter spoke again, "And…you find this hard to believe?" she could tell by his voice he knew she wasn't telling him everything, but she didn't want to tell anyone about the other thing Aimi said.

"Well, I mean, I know I'm a strong warrior. You've trained me well and I couldn't have asked for a better teacher, but my mother was one of the strongest ninjitsu masters of her time, and I know I'd never be able to live up to her expectations." Kayla explained quietly, daring to glance at her father. He tilted his head slightly at he listened, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"Your modesty is one of your most honorable traits, my child. However, do not go as far as to doubt your skills. Your mother had wisdom far beyond her years, as well as a kind heart. And I see much of her in you. I have no doubt that she is watching over you with pride. Any advice she gave you, no matter how unusual it may seem, you should heed it."

Kayla looked at her lap again. He knew she didn't tell him everything, but he wasn't going to push her to tell him.

Kayla bowed her head to her father before standing up and leaving the room, closing the Japanese sliding door behind her. When she turned to head back to bed she saw her brothers looking at her strangely, as if confused.

Not wanting to explain what happened, she ducked her head and walked toward her room. When she passed Don she paused, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, "In my nightmare you were dead with a sword in your shell." her throat tightened at the memory and she hurried past her brothers, closing her bedroom door quickly.

She took a deep breath before going over to her bed and climbing under the blankets. Her foot brushed something furry, causing her to squeak in surprise. Kayla lifted the blanket to look under it and Klunk popped his head out from under her blanket.

"Hey, Klunky." Kayla murmured quietly with a smile as she lied down, pulling her blanket up. Klunk crawled out and walked in a circle on top of the blanket beside her before curling up beside her shoulder.

Kayla rolled onto her shoulder, supporting her head with one arm on her pillow while her other arm draped over Klunk, the quiet purring slowly lulling her to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Kayla shivered slightly as she climbed out of the sewers and a cold winter breeze hit her. It was early November and last night was the first snowfall of the year. It was only a few weeks since her and Alana made up, but it seemed like their relationship was still a little rocky, but definitely better than before.

Sunday, the day after they made up, April and Casey had come into the lair announcing their engagement. Apparently that's what Raph had been talking to Casey about near the kitchen, trying to give him a pep talk.

They decided they'd have the wedding at the farm house during the High School's spring break so Kayla, Katie, Alana, and Marcus could come. It would most likely be a small wedding consisting of close family and friends who knew about the turtles.

"Come on, Slowpoke!" Mikey shouted as he raced past Kayla and leapt up the fire escape.

Leo, standing by Kayla, shook his head. "Mikey, the whole point of being a ninja is being _silent_." he whispered loudly so their brother could hear. Mikey paused and looked down at them.

"Aw, c'mon Leo! Quit being such a party pooper!" Mikey whined before continuing up the fire escape. Kayla shook her head, smiling as she followed him.

When they all reached the top Kayla stopped and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion upon seeing Mikey skating across the rooftop.

"What da-?" Raph stopped next to her and stared at their weird brother.

"Dudes!" Mikey shouted as he skated around a patch of ice, "I sprayed the roof last night and it froze! It's, like, our own skating rink!"

Leo shook his head with a smile. "Mikey, just be careful, will you?"

Kayla hurried to join her brother in skating while Don nudged Raph with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Pssh. C'mon, Leo. I'm a _ninja_ remember?"

At that moment Raph and Don skated up behind him, both in crouched positions and holding one end each of Don's bow staff. The back of Mikey's ankles hit the staff and he fell back onto his shell.

Kayla slid to a stop beside him and looked down at him with her head tilted, "Yeah," she agreed sarcastically, "nothing gets past you, huh?"

Raph and Don chuckled as they skated circles around their youngest brother, who was still lying on his shell. He glared up at them before sticking his tongue out and standing up. Kayla grabbed his hand and helped him stand up before they both joined Raph and Don in skating around the makeshift skating rink.

"What's up, Fearless Leader? Too _responsible_ to have some fun?" Raph smirked at his older brother, asking the second question sarcastically.

Leo narrowed his eyes, keeping a straight face for a moment, before he smirked and joined his brothers and sister skating around the ice.

After about ten minutes they were all skating in circles and laughing, having the most fun they'd had in a long time. Kayla stepped off the ice and watched her brothers with a small smile on her face. She'd always loved weekends. She could go on patrol and hang out with her brothers, but nowadays she loved them even more. Especially if it gave her the chance to get away from Ethan.

"What's up?" Don asked as he stopped in front of her.

Kayla smiled at him. "Nothing. I'm just glad it's Friday. I love patrolling with you guys."

Don narrowed his eyes seriously. "Could've fooled me. You're hardly ever around anymore. You're always off doing something and we have no idea where you are or what you're doing."

Kayla's mouth popped open slightly in surprise. She didn't really expect her brothers to notice that much, and if any of them were to call her out on it, she expected Raph, not Donny.

"I…um, I." Kayla didn't know what to say so she just crossed her arms and looked away from her brother.

"What-now you're not going to say anything? No answer as to where you've been going off to?"

Should she tell him? Out of all her brothers Donny would be the most understanding of her situation. But he wouldn't really be able to offer her any advice; his specialty is computers and technology, not relationships. But still, getting it off her chest, the whole truth that even her friends don't know, would probably feel good.

Kayla took a deep breath, preparing to tell him the whole truth. Suddenly a chill went up her back and she whipped her head around, her brothers doing the same.

Standing on the other side of the rooftop stood close to three dozen Foot ninjas, all poised with weapons ready.

In a flash Kayla and her brothers had their own weapons out, the five siblings standing in a line. They stood, waiting for the Foot to make the first move.

Almost like the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus, the Foot split into two groups and moved slightly away from each other, leaving what looked similar to an isle between them. A large form landed in the shadows at the far back of the gap. Kayla narrowed her eyes, trying to see what it was, but couldn't.

The form walked slowly forward through the path made by the Foot Clan. Another form jumped away from the ranks and walked beside it, though slightly behind. Kayla could tell by the hooded cape it was Karai. Kayla instinctively tightened her grip on her bow at that realization.

When the figure stepped into a shaft of moonlight Kayla and her brothers gaped in shock and horror.

Moonlight glinted on more than a dozen sharp blades and a jagged, steel helmet; and a black and red cape flowed in the wind. He was well over 6 foot tall, almost nearing 7 feet, while his broad shoulders were close to four feet wide. The last container of ooze had left him mutated. A steel mask covered the bottom of his face, hiding the scars everyone knew was there.

Kayla felt sick to her stomach and she felt her knees get weak, her nightmares flashing through her mind. "No…" she breathed.

"It can't be…" Don whispered from beside her, "It's not possible."

"That warehouse caved in on him. No one can survive that." Raph murmured.

"You forget," he spoke, his voice loud and booming, "The Shredder cannot be defeated."

Raph stepped in front of his siblings, his shoulders broad and tense, "Yeah, well ya forget we beat ya twice before!" he shouted angrily.

Karai stepped forward so she was beside Shredder. "You dare to-"

"Silence Karai!" Shredder commanded, making Karai fall silent and step back. He then spoke to his enemies, "You simply got lucky before. However, you have been thorns in my side for long enough. Now, prepare to meet your destruction. Kayla," he turned his head slightly and Kayla felt his eyes burn into her, "you have a choice to make. You may face death like the freaks you associate with, or you may join me, your true father."

Kayla swallowed and started shaking slightly. Seeing Shredder like this after they were sure he was dead put her on edge. She wasn't sure she'd be able to even speak, no matter how much she wanted to yell how stupid he was if he thought she'd join him. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Leo standing by her, looking at her with a blank expression. He was waiting for her answer, too. A strong shiver ran up her back once more before she looked back across the rooftop and took a couple steps forward, stopping just in front of her brothers.

"I would rather die like Master Yoshi and my mother than join you. You're nothing but a murderer, and I want nothing to do with you." she answered, somehow managing to keep her voice even.

"Wrong answer." was all he said before he raised his hand. At the signal, the Foot clan raced forward.

Leo lead his siblings forward with their weapons ready, clashing with the wave of Foot ninjas.

As Kayla went against three Foot ninjas she noticed that at least one of her brothers tried to stay near her throughout the fight. Normally she would've yelled at them to focus on their own fight, but at that moment she needed to see at least one of them near her.

A good ten minutes into the fight Kayla shot an arrow into one ninja's chest, effectively knocking him out, if not killing him. She spun around, her eyes scanning the fight to see who to attack next.

She felt her heart stop when she looked through the crowd across the rooftop. Leo was there, fighting harder than she'd seen him fight in a long time, against the Shredder. As Kayla watched, Shredder disarmed Leo by knocking his katanas from his hands with his gauntlet. He then knocked Leo's legs out from under him with a sweep of his leg. When Leo tried to shakily push himself up on his hands and knees Shredder brought the side of his fist down on his shell, slamming him back down on the ground.

The moonlight glinted as Shredder pulled a katana of his own out of his belt and raised it above his head.

Without even thinking anything through and simply following her instinct, Kayla raced forward and raised her bow above her head, intercepting the katana that was aimed to slice through her brother's body.

Shredder basically growled at her. "You'd really fight your own father to protect these freaks of nature?" he asked as he pressed down on the katana that was pressed on her bow.

Her arms quivered with the effort of holding it up and she gritted her teeth at the strain. However, she forced the words out, "You are _not _my father! My father is Hamatto Splinter, and he is more of a father than you will _ever_ be!"

Shredder's nearly black eyes narrowed in anger.

Before Kayla had time to react the weight of the katana left her bow, causing her to stumble forward slightly. Shredder slammed his foot down on her back, causing her to land on her front. She rolled onto her back in time to see Shredder aiming a punch down at her.

She rolled out of the way and managed to stumble to her feet. Her bow was by Leo on the other side of Shredder, so she raised her fists to fight. Shredder punched her gut with one fist and knocked her fists away with his other hand, leaving her front undefended.

Just like she'd seen in so many of her nightmares, Kayla saw the all too familiar gauntlet swing towards her. It felt like slow-motion, and yet she didn't have time to react.

Searing pain coursed through her body as his gauntlet ripped through her flesh and blood began pouring from the wound.

Kayla felt the sickening feeling she was gonna throw up and suddenly felt lightheaded as her vision began getting blurry and blackness began closing in.

She heard someone yell her name before everything went black.


	16. Chapter 16

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"Mikey, for the hundredth time, she'll be fine!"

"'Den, why's it takin' so long, Brainiac?"

"Guys, leave him alone and let him work."

Kayla groaned as voices began floating around her head. She could see bright lights through her closed eyelids and feel someone doing something to her side. She moved her hand to instinctively push it away.

"Hey, careful Kayla. I don't wanna screw up." Don's voice spoke as a hand grabbed her wrist and moved it off the side of whatever she was lying on.

Kayla grimaced and forced her eyes open. She had to blink several times to adjust to the bright lights but finally managed to get used to it enough to look around the room.

She was in Casey and April's living room on the couch. Don and April were knelt on the floor beside her doing something she couldn't see, Mikey was sitting on the recliner near her, Casey was sitting at the kitchen counter, and Raph was leaning against the wall by Kayla's head.

Kayla flinched when she felt a sharp poke in her side and gasped in pain.

Don looked up at her. "Sorry. I'm stitching it up."

Kayla's eyes widened. "What?"

Don smiled sympathetically at her while April began gently dabbing a wet cloth on her side.

"You took a bad blow in the fight with Shredder." he explained, "You have two deep gashes in your side just under your rib cage that I had to stitch up while you were out. I gave you an anesthetic so you wouldn't feel it, but I guess it's starting to wear off."

Kayla hummed in acknowledgment before she tried to sit up on her elbows. Two hands rested firmly on her shoulders, keeping her from sitting up. She rested back on the arm of the sofa and tilted her head back to see Raph looking down at her.

"You need ta stay down, Squirt. Move 'round too much an' you'll hurt yourself worse."

Kayla sighed and let herself relax into the cushions. Don gently lifted her middle section off the couch so April could wrap her injuries with gauze. As they did so Kayla glanced around the room again.

"Hey, where's Leo?" Kayla asked, worried her brother didn't make it out of the fight.

"He went down to the lair to pick up some things we'll need and bring Sensei and Klunk here. We're gonna be here a while." Mikey answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kayla looked at Don as he added, "Just after Shredder attacked you we picked you up and managed to get away and get here unseen. However, to play it safe since Shredder's looking for us, we're gonna be stuck here for a while."

Kayla nodded as Don lowered her back on the couch when April finished wrapping her injury.

She yawned before looking at April. "I feel _really _bad for you." she told her, earning a quiet laugh from April. April was used to having her home full of rowdy guys, but it took 'endless amounts of patience' as Splinter liked to put it.

Don laid an ice pack wrapped in a dishtowel on Kayla's injuries as he spoke again, "You probably won't be able to move around too much for a while. So, you'll probably have to stay out of school for at least this week, maybe you could go back next Friday, but I doubt it."

Kayla nodded with a huge smile on her face. She didn't have to go to school! She wouldn't have to sit through hours of boring class lectures! And best of all: she wouldn't have to see Ethan!

April stood up then. "Well, now that I'm done playing nursemaid I'm going to try and get at least a few hours of sleep. If you guys want, one or two of you can sleep in the spare bedroom down the hall and some of you can sleep in here. There are spare blankets in the hallway closet." she announced before heading down the hall to her bedroom with Casey in tow. Kayla saw that it was going on three in the morning.

"Night dome heads." Casey joked as he followed.

Don decided that, even though it would be better for Kayla to sleep on a bed, he didn't want to risk moving her and reopening her injuries.

Mikey took residents on the recliner, Don laid down on a bunch of blankets at the foot of the couch, and Raph decided to wait up for Leo and Splinter.

XXX

The next morning Kayla was woken up by the smell of eggs and pancakes. She forced her eyes open and looked over the arm of the couch to see Mikey cooking in the kitchen. Her stomach grumbled and she hoped Donny would let her eat some of that, she didn't know if her injuries would effect what she could and could not eat.

There was a small meow and something landed lightly on her legs. Kayla smiled down at Klunk as the little, orange kitten started walking toward her face.

"Nuh uh." a voice said before Klunk was lifted off her and placed back on the floor.

Kayla looked up at Leo. "Hey, I didn't mind the company." she complained.

Leo smiled and sat down in the recliner close to her. "I didn't want him walking on your stitches and risk opening them." he explained. Kayla thought about it a bit before nodding. Leo looked at her for a moment before gently asking, "How are you doing?"

Kayla shrugged one shoulder. "A little sore, but Donny gave me some painkillers before I fell asleep. They seem to be doing the job."

Leo nodded before looking down, his elbows were rested on his knees and his hands were folded together. He was studying his hands for a moment before asking, "Why'd you do it? I could've handled Shredder, why'd you fight him?" he looked up and stared into Kayla's eyes, waiting for her answer.

Kayla took a deep breath. "Whether you think so or not, you weren't exactly doing too great against Shredder, he was going in for the kill when I stepped in. I know for a fact I'm not ready to face the Shredder alone like that, but I wasn't just going to sit there and watch my brother die and do nothing just like in my nightmares. You promised me my nightmares weren't going to come true, so I did what I had to, to make sure they didn't."

Leo narrowed his eyes slightly. "And whether you think so or not, you're still my little sister. I'm responsible for you. If something happens to you it's all on me." he paused and studied Kayla's injury a moment before pointing a finger at it. "This right here, is my fault."

Kayla immediately shook her head. "No, Leo. It's not your fault. I let my guard down in the fight and now I have to deal with the consequences. I should've been more careful."

Leo sighed deeply through his nose. "Alright, lets just end this conversation now, cause I know neither of us are going to give up. We'll call it a draw."

Kayla smiled and laughed a bit, knowing he was right.

XXX

Kayla spent most of Saturday after her talk with Leo sleeping, waking up occasionally to eat or use the bathroom. Someone needed to help her walk to the bathroom, which was the most embarrassing thing she could imagine.

Then, Sunday was extremely boring. Don refused to let her walk anymore than necessary so she was stuck on the couch basically the entire day. Her brothers tried to keep her busy. Mikey played board games with her and they tried training Klunk to do tricks, Leo had brought her sketch book from the lair for her to draw, and Raph managed to find fairly interesting TV shows to watch. Don suggested she study or do homework, she shot that idea down quick.

Finally, Monday was pretty boring like Sunday, but better than going to school. However, Splinter finally forced her to work a little on homework, and she actually managed to finish all the assignments in her bag.

Kayla was sitting back on the couch, her back leaning against the arm of the sofa, reading a book for her English class. She wasn't allowed to really sit straight up so she had to lean back slightly on a pillow against the couch arm. She knew April and Casey went grocery shopping, Don was fixing the alarm in April's shop, again, Mikey was helping him, probably breaking something, and Sensei was meditating in the spare room. Kayla wasn't sure where the others were.

She heard her shell cell ring on the floor by the couch. She glanced at the clock on the wall as she leaned forward to try and grab it. It was exactly 3: 34. She smiled but it turned to a grimace as she felt her stitches pull painfully and she still couldn't reach her phone.

"Someone! I can't reach my phone!" she yelled, hoping someone around the apartment would hear her.

She heard footsteps and looked over her shoulder. Leo had just walked in. He looked at her, then down at the floor where she was reaching. He shook his head as he picked the phone up off the floor and handed it to her before going into the kitchen.

"Thank you!" she yelled unnecessarily loud with a smile, earning a small laugh from her brother, before she answered her phone. "Helloooo?" she drawled into the phone.

"Where the shell are you!?" Alana's voice practically screamed into the receiver, using the swearword-replacement Kayla's family frequently used.

"Hello to you too, Alana. And thanks for permanently damaging my eardrum." Kayla greeted sarcastically, keeping one hand on her book to save her spot.

"She can't help it, it's in the genetics." Katie's voice spoke up.

Kayla blinked. "Am I on speaker?"

"Yeah." Marcus answered, and Kayla could tell by his tone he was smirking.

"Now, answer the question." Alana demanded.

Kayla sighed. "Okay, okay, chill. Don doesn't want me going to school for, like, a week because he doesn't want me to reopen my stitches."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Rewind! Stitches?!" Katie's voice shouted into the receiver, causing Kayla to wince and pull the phone from her ear.

"Again, eardrum." Kayla snapped.

"Sorry, but what happened?" Katie asked in concern.

"Okay, Friday night my brothers and I went on patrol, just like every weekend. We ran into the Foot Clan and you'll never guess who was there."

"Um…that Kari something girl ninja?" Alana guessed.

"Karai," Kayla corrected her, "and she was there, but she's not who I was talking about. I'm talking about the Human Can-opener." she explained, using one of the many nicknames her and Mikey had made up.

"Shredder?!" her three friends yelled into the phone, causing Kayla to hold her phone an arms length away from her ear.

"But I thought he was dead!" Marcus continued, "You guys kept saying there was no way he was alive!"

"Well, would you expect someone to be alive after an entire warehouse on the docks caved in on him?" Kayla asked rhetorically.

"To be fair, he also survived being crushed in a garbage compactor." Katie pointed out.

"Anyway, to continue with my story. We got into a huge fight with the Foot. Um," Kayla paused and glanced into the kitchen and saw Leo making himself some tea. She held the phone closer to her mouth, "I saw Shredder ready to kill Leo." she whispered. "So I stepped in and fought him myself. He knocked my hands away and sliced his gauntlet through my side just under my ribs. I kinda blacked out after that."

"Is Leo in listening distance?" Alana asked.

"Yeah." Kayla answered, knowing Leo could probably hear her anyway.

"But, you're okay, right?" Marcus checked, his voice laced in concern.

Kayla smiled and felt her face heat up for some reason. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't come to school for a while. Not that I mind."

Her friends laughed at that comment, "Lucky." Alana joked, earning more laughs.

"Well, I gotta get going. I'll see you guys around." Marcus announced.

"Yeah, we better be going, too. I'll call you or text you later or something," Alana added.

"Alright. Bye guys." Kayla said before hanging up and putting her phone back on the floor. She read only a couple more pages into _The Scarlet Letter _when her phone rang again.

Kayla threw her head back on the couch arm, "Uuuuggghh!" she looked around and saw Leo sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea. "Leo?" she called innocently.

Leo lifted his eyes up to look at her. Kayla pulled the best puppy pout she could muster, and only held it for a couple seconds before Leo sighed, placed his cup on the table, and got up. He walked into the living room, picked up the shell cell, and handed it to her.

"Here, cripple." he joked.

"Ha ha, I forgot how to laugh." Kayla laughed humorlessly at him. When he walked away she looked at the caller ID and felt herself shiver.

Ethan.

Kayla bit her lip and contemplated what to do. Finally, it stopped ringing and she sighed in relief. She didn't have to talk to him.

"Didn't you answer it?" Leo asked from the kitchen.

"Oh, um, I was about to, but, uh, it stopped before I could." Kayla lied. She could feel Leo's gaze burning into her back and she knew he didn't believe her. Well, she couldn't blame him, that was by far the worst lie she'd ever told!

Kayla decided to put her cell on the couch next to her instead of on the floor so she could reach it if it rang again. Now back to reading _The Scarlet Letter _for English. Ugh!


	17. Chapter 17

The rest of the week was about as boring as the first couple days. Kayla and her brothers were all getting restless being cooped up in the small two bedroom apartment, and that resulted in a lot of things being broken, which April wasn't too happy about.

Kayla had gotten multiple phone calls from her friends while she was couch-ridden, which kept her nearly sane. She also got several calls and texts from Ethan, which she ignored. She didn't realize someone else noticed this, and it just _had _to be the hothead of the family.

It was Wednesday afternoon and Kayla was sitting on the couch, big shocker, watching the News with Raph. Don, Leo, Splinter, and April were at the kitchen table talking. Casey was working, he surprisingly got a job at a garage, and Mikey was sitting on the floor with Klunk.

Kayla's cell started ringing from its place on the end table. Kayla grabbed it and looked at the caller ID. She tried not to grimace when she read the name. Ethan. She was hoping maybe he'd think this was her breaking up with him or something, but he clearly was as stubborn as she could be.

Kayla sighed and just stuffed it in her sweatpants pocket. When she turned back to face the TV she glanced over at Raph to see him staring at her.

"What?" she asked, hoping he wasn't going to ask who called.

"Why didn't ya answer?" he asked. The phone had stopped ringing at that point.

Kayla blinked, directing her attention back at the TV. "Didn't feel like it." she mumbled.

She could see Raph narrow his eyes and knew there was going to be a fight.

"What da shell's goin' on wit' you? When Alana, Katie, or even Marcus call ya practically answer on da second ring. But wheneva dis otha person calls ya ignore it. Who is it?" Raph practically shouted.

"Raph." Leo warned from the kitchen.

Raph ignored him and turned, still sitting on the couch, to face his sister. "Who keeps callin' ya?" he asked darkly.

Kayla looked at her lap where she was playing with the hem of her T-shirt. She knew if Raph looked into her eyes he'd see everything she was feeling. He knew her too well.

"No one, really. Just some…number I don't recognize. They're probably calling the wrong number and don't realize it." Kayla mumbled, making a deal of playing with her fingers.

She could feel Raph lean closer to her, causing the couch cushions to rustle. "You're lying." he stated. "Tell me the truth, Kayla."

Anger flashed through Kayla's veins. Her head snapped up to glare into her brother's eyes. "Why don't you just drop it?! It's none of your business! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Raph looked mildly surprised at her outburst, but after a second his expression switched to one of anger. "Cause you're my sister, that means you're our responsibility! Ya can't be keepin' secrets from us after everythin' that's happened!"

"This has nothing to do with Shredder." Kayla argued, forcing her voice to be quiet despite the overwhelming urge to scream at her brother.

"It don't matta', you're keepin' somethin' from us, an' that's dangerous business afta' everythin' that's happened."

"It's none of your business! Why can't I have just an ounce of privacy around here?!" Kayla screamed at him before standing up abruptly and turning to leave the room. However, her dramatic exit was faltered when she tripped over Klunk, causing her to stumble forward. The corner of the end table hit her just above her hip, a little below her stitches. Kayla gasped at the sudden pain and crumpled to the ground, clutching her side with her left hand and holding the end table with her free hand.

She could see Leo stand up, ready to help if he needed to. Hands gently gripped below her arms to try and help her up.

"Kayla, are ya okay?" Raph asked, his voice full of concern and actually sounding a little afraid.

Kayla let go of her side and shoved his hands away from her, gritting her teeth against the pain as she forced herself to stand up. Don was standing at the edge of the kitchen, watching her in concern.

"Kay, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Kayla narrowed her eyes at the ground and walked away from them. "Just leave me alone!" she screamed as she walked down the apartment hallway, trying not to limp. When she reached the back of the hall she slumped into the corner and slid down the wall to the floor. It hurt to curl up, but she was exhausted and just wanted to be away from everyone. She loved the freedom of being able to come and go as she pleased, and so did her brothers. So being cooped up in April's apartment like this was getting on everyone's nerves.

Kayla closed her eyes and tried taking deep breaths, but it hurt to breathe with her throbbing side. She rested the side of her head against the wall, trying to calm down a little.

A buzzing in her pants pocket surprised her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to look at the screen. She got a text message from Ethan. She opened it to read it.

_KAYLA ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE BEFORE I TRACK YOU _

_DOWN AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!_

Kayla's eyes widened and her heartbeat picked up. She could feel all her emotions building up, ready to burst. Anger, fear, loneliness, pain. All of it was building up until she couldn't contain it any longer.

An agonized scream forced its way out of her throat as she threw her phone with all her strength, making it smash into several pieces against the wall. She clutched the back of her head in her fists and buried her face in her forearms, unable to lean forward and bury it in her knees.

She could dimly hear several worried voices before someone picked her up, one arm under her knees, the other behind her back. She pressed her face into someone's plastron, hiding her face from everyone as tears streamed down her cheeks.

She was placed on the familiar couch, but she still hid her face in her hands. Someone sat next to her, but she smelled fur.

A small sob escaped her throat before she turned and buried her face into her father's chest. His arms wrapped around her, his clawed hand slowly stroking her back. She could feel several eyes watching her, but she ignored them and continued crying into her father's chest.

XXX

Don left the bathroom and walked into the main part of the small apartment, stopping just between the living room and the kitchen. He knew Sensei was meditating in the spare room, and April and Casey went grocery shopping again. Everyone else was in the living room.

Mikey was sitting on the floor in front of the TV with Klunk watching some space cartoon Don didn't recognize, Kayla and Leo were sitting silently on the couch, and Raph was standing by the window leaning against the wall.

It was Wednesday evening, about three hours after Kayla's…outburst. It had taken a solid hour for Sensei to calm her down, but she still refused to tell what was going on. Finally, Sensei told everyone to leave her alone and that she'd tell us when she was ready. Leo commanded Raph to stay away from Kayla because otherwise he'd probably be tempted to bring up the whole incident again.

But as Don watched his brooding brother, who was leaning one shoulder against the wall and watching Kayla with a mix of worry and anger, he had a feeling he would've stayed away from Kayla even without Leo's command. He looked like he was worried about setting her off again and hurting her. So he was staying far away from her anyway.

Don sighed, silently hoping all this tension would blow over soon as he walked into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table, pulling out his shell cell. He dialed a number and put it to his ear.

After a few moments there was a rustling and a voice spoke, "Hello?"

"Hey, Alana. It's Don."

There was a moment of silence. "Don? What's up? And why can't I reach Kayla? I've tried calling her about a dozen times this afternoon and the call won't go through."

"Yeah, Kayla kinda… broke her cell." Don answered, looking at the tabletop where Kayla's phone lay in several pieces. He knew he'd have to just build a new one because this one was broken beyond repair, even for him. "Anyway, can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Do you think you could get Kayla's homework from her classes and bring them by April's like tomorrow or Friday?"

"Yeah, I…hold on." Don waited and heard Alana whispering to someone on the other line, "Hey, is it okay if Marcus comes, too? We both really want to see Kayla."

"Yeah that's fine. I just want to get some of Kayla's assignments so she can work on them over the weekend and not be so swamped when she goes back to school."

"Yeah that makes sense. We'll stop by right after school tomorrow."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No problem. See ya."

"Bye."

Don hung up the phone and stood up, moving to stand at the edge of the kitchen, watching whatever Mikey had on the TV.

"Don?" Kayla looked over at him from where she was seated on the couch next to Leo. "I'm bored."

Don smiled at his sister, scolding himself for not expecting that.


	18. Chapter 18

**WOOHOO! 47 reviews! I've surpassed **_**A Single Broken Promise **_

**and I'm not even done yet! **

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!**

**XXX**

"Hey Marcus." Alana greeted as she approached his locker.

"Hey. You got all of Kayla's stuff?" he asked, closing his locker and swinging his bag onto his shoulder.

Alana nodded. "Yup. Lets get going."

"Brown!" a voice yelled down the hall, making Marcus and Alana look. They recognized Brown as Marcus's last name.

Ethan came storming down the hall toward them. When he reached the two friends he shoved Marcus in the chest.

"What's this I hear about you going to see MY girl?" he demanded, getting in Marcus's face. Alana stepped back, unsure what was going to happen and what she could do.

"Alana and I are taking her homework to her since she hasn't been in school this past week." Marcus explained calmly, trying not to snap.

"So I take it you know why she's not in school." Ethan guessed. "Where is she?"

"That's none of your business and it's not my place to say." Marcus answered, meeting Ethan's eyes with a spark of defiance. Ethan shoved Marcus again, making him slam into the lockers behind him.

"I told you to stay away from her. She's mine." Ethan growled, getting closer to Marcus's face.

Marcus narrowed his eyes at him. "Last time I checked, you can't own a person. Kayla doesn't belong to anyone, especially not you."

Ethan pinned Marcus to the locker with his forearm pressed to Marcus's chest. "She's MY girlfriend. You seem to know everything about her. You hang out with her family, you spend most of your spare time at her house, you're close to her friends. You're always around her and you seem to know everything about her, and I don't. Yet you've tried to tell me you have no feelings for her past friendship?"

"She's my friend, so what if I care about her? If you ask me, I think she could do way better than you. You don't treat her with the respect she deserves, you know nothing about her!" Marcus shouted.

"Shut it!" Ethan yelled before lifting his fist and punching Marcus in the face. He stepped back and glared at Marcus as he slouched against the locker, pressing his hand to his eye where he'd been punched. Alana stepped forward and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Stay away from Kayla, or I swear I'll kill you." Ethan threatened before turning and walking back down the hall.

Alana looked at Marcus, his head was bowed slightly and he still had one hand pressed over his eye. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get going." he said quickly as they headed down the hall. He kept his head down the whole time.

After a few moments he spoke again, "Promise you won't tell Kay what happened?" he asked.

Alana looked at him in shock. "She has a right to know."

"I don't want her to blame herself." Marcus explained. "Please, Alana?"

Alana sighed. "Sure."

XXX

Kayla plopped back down on the sofa and grabbed her sketchbook off the end table.

"Kayla, I told you to be careful." Don warned her. He'd just finished changing her bandages in the bathroom.

"I am." she murmured as she began sketching the vase of flowers on the end table. She'd already sketched Mikey when he was sleeping, Klunk cleaning his paw, Leo meditating, and an apple. And that was only in the past three days. To say she was bored was an understatement.

There was a knock at the front door, and in a second Kayla and April were alone in the living room. They knew it wasn't Casey, who was currently at work, he wouldn't knock to get into his own apartment.

"Who is it?" April called as she headed toward the door.

"It's us, April." Alana answered from outside the door, immediately making Kayla smile. April opened the door with a smile, only for her jaw to drop in shock.

"Marcus, what happened?" she asked, making Kayla get up and hurry to look out the doorway at her friends.

Marcus's left eye was a dark purplish blue color and it was starting to swell.

"What the shell?!" Kayla practically shouted. Mikey appeared behind her.

"Whoa, dude. You look like you got in one heck of a fight." Mikey joked.

"What happened?" Kayla asked, stepping back to let her friends inside.

"It's nothing." Marcus shook his head, avoiding Kayla's eyes.

"Ethan punched him." Alana interrupted loudly. Marcus glared at her.

Kayla froze, her eyes widening and her mouth opening slowly. She felt herself get cold and a shiver ran up her spine.

"He what?" Kayla's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Who's Ethan?" Raph asked from where he was now leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in his usual posture. Everyone had come back into the living room.

Kayla looked pointedly at her friends. "Some guy we go to school with." she answered. She looked closely at Marcus. "Come in the kitchen." she told him, nodding towards the kitchen.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be moving around too much." Marcus pointed out as he followed her.

"I just have to take it easy, but I'm not handicapped. I can walk." she answered as she got an ice pack out of the freezer and turned back to him. He sat at the kitchen table and she sat next to him and gently placed the ice pack over his eye.

"Oooohhh! Kayla!" Mikey called in a teasing voice before making kissy faces, causing everyone in the room to laugh, except Kayla and Marcus, they both blushed. Kayla didn't even realize until that moment how it must look, her putting an ice pack on Marcus's eye for him.

Marcus smiled at her before putting his own hand over the pack to she could let go.

"So, why'd this Ethan guy punch you?" Don asked curiously from where he was sitting on the couch.

Marcus looked uncomfortable, like he wasn't sure what to say.

"Guys, lay off. It's none of our business." Kayla argued. She rested her cheek on her fist with her elbow on the table, effectively shielding her mouth from her brothers.

She looked at Marcus and mouthed, 'Was it because of me?' Marcus avoided her eyes and shook his head no. She gave him a look that demanded the truth. Marcus grimaced but nodded.

"Secrets don't make friends." Mikey announced in a tattletale voice.

"Yeah, why don't ya share?" Raph asked, leaning his hands forward on the kitchen counter.

Kayla narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Cause it's none of your business."

"If you're involved, then it is." he pointed out.

"Who says I was involved?" Kayla asked, trying to make her tone believable.

"The fact that you're keepin' somethin' from us." Raph answered, giving her a look that dared her to argue.

"Maybe I'm keeping something from you because it's not my place to say what's going on." Kayla argued.

Raph narrowed his eyes for a moment. He suddenly snapped his head around and looked back at Alana, who was standing between April and Don.

"Do you know what's goin' on?" he demanded. Alana's eyes widened, clearly not expecting the attention to be snapped to her.

"Raphael!" Splinter scolded, "We do not threaten our friends. Alana has been very kind to our family, especially Kayla. You do not thank her by demanding answers of her when she is in no position to answer them."

Raph glared at the floor, clenching his fists to keep himself from disrespecting his father. He took a few deep breaths before looking up at his sister.

"I don't suppose askin'…nicely…would get some answers outta you?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Kayla bit her lips together and shook her head no.

Raph slammed his fist down on the counter, making everyone jump slightly. He spun on his foot, stormed over to the window, threw it open, and jumped out onto the fire escape, climbing the steps to the rooftop.

Kayla sighed and looked down at her hands, which were rested on the table.

"Awkward." Mikey spoke in a singsong voice.

"He just needs time to cool off." Leo reassured everyone.

"Um, I have your assignments, Kay." Alana spoke uncomfortably as she pulled a few notebooks out of her shoulder bag and held them out.

Kayla smiled innocently at her best friend, "I don't suppose you'd wanna keep them?"

Alana raised one eyebrow at her. "Nice try, Kay. But I have enough of my own that I need to get done."

Everyone laughed and Don took the assignments from Alana, placing them on the kitchen counter by Kayla's own school bag.

Marcus felt a buzz in his back pocket and pulled out his phone to check the text message. "My mom wants me home, I better get going." he announced.

"I gotta get going, too. I have work in an hour." Alana added.

Marcus tried handing the ice pack to Kayla.

"I think you should keep it, we have more than enough around here." she told him with a small smile. He smiled back and held onto it.

As Kayla followed them to the front door she grabbed her sketchbook and ripped out her sketch of Klunk. She handed it to Alana as her friends stood in the doorway.

"Could you get that to your cousin? I'll probably be drawing more than enough in the near future." Katie had a dentist appointment and couldn't make it, even though she desperately wanted to. And everyone knew she was in love with cats, especially Klunk.

"Yeah, no problem." Alan smiled as her and Marcus stepped into the hallway.

Kayla stood leaning her shoulder against the doorway as her friends turned back to look at her from the hall.

"I really think you should tell them what's going on." Alana suggested quietly, a look of concern on her face. She knew Kayla got in fights with Raph frequently, but they usually just blew over shortly after. This one was a bit more serious, and Alana knew those kinds of fights were hard for Kayla to deal with at times. Especially since Kayla was what her brothers considered a 'Raphael Jr.', and their tempers clashed frequently.

Kayla looked at the ground, her arms crossed over her chest. "I know. They deserve the truth…the whole truth. But I'm just…embarrassed. I'm ashamed of it, they're gonna think I can't make my own decisions or something." Kayla rubbed her face with both her hands, leaving them to rest over her eyes. She shook her head and mumbled into her palms, "I'm such an idiot."

Two hands took her wrists and pulled them away from her face, revealing Marcus standing in front of her. "You're not an idiot. Everyone makes mistakes, even your brothers. They'll understand."

Kayla bit her bottom lip and breathed through her nose. "Yeah…but I'm still sorry about what happened." she grimaced guiltily at him. "I promise, I won't let that happen again." she promised, her voice holding a thick determination in its depths.

Marcus shrugged. "It's nothing I couldn't handle. I probably asked for it, ticking him off the way I did."

Kayla smiled appreciatively at him, thankful he was so understanding. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys whenever I go back to school, which'll probably be Monday if Don has his way."

"And if you have your way?" Alana asked teasingly.

Kayla looked up thoughtfully. "Maybe in a month or two…or never." she answered jokingly with a smile. Her friends laughed before they said their goodbyes and left.

Kayla stepped back into the apartment and closed the door. When she turned around she saw Raph climb back in through the window, closing it behind him. He looked over at Kayla and their eyes met for a fraction of a second before she ducked her head and moved to sit next to Mikey on the couch.

Raph probably thought she was mad at him, but truthfully that wasn't it at all. She was avoiding looking him in the eye because he'd see the chaos of emotions swirling in the brown depths, and she couldn't let that happen.

Just as Kayla picked up her sketchpad and looked for where she'd left off there was a knock on the door. A whoosh of air brushed by Kayla, and once again her and April were alone in the living room. Kayla looked around the corner into the hallway of the apartment and saw her brothers and father all lined up along the wall with Leo in the front.

April stood up from the kitchen table and headed toward the door. "Seriously guys? It's probably Alana or Marcus forgetting something."

"Can't be too careful." Leo whispered, his hand resting on his katana handle.

April had on a gentle smile as she opened the door. She blinked a moment in slight surprise before she smiled warmly.

"Um, hello. Can I help you?" she asked politely, and Kayla went back to sketching, figuring it wasn't anyone they knew.

"Um, yeah is, um…Is Kayla Hamatto here?"


	19. Chapter 19

"Um, yeah is, um…Is Kayla Hamatto here?"

Kayla's eyes snapped wide open and she whipped her head around to look at April.

April glanced over at her, "Um…" Kayla looked at the floor, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose before looking up and nodding at April.

"Yeah, she's here." April finally answered as Kayla walked over to the door. She smiled briefly at April before stepping out of the apartment and closing the door behind her. She crossed her arms self-consciously and bit her lip as she looked up at Ethan.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Do you live here?" he asked, completely ignoring her question. "Was that your mom or sister or something?"

Kayla furrowed her eyebrows. "She's a family friend, and no I don't live here. Now, how did you find me?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"It broke." she snapped, getting impatient. "I'm not answering anymore questions until you tell me how you found me here."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Fine. I followed your friends here. I didn't know where you lived and you weren't answering my calls or texts."

"While we're on the subject of my friends, why did you punch Marcus?" Kayla demanded, her arms still crossed, but more out of anger now.

Rage flashed through Ethan's eyes. "He told you I hit him?"

"No, he didn't. I found out from someone else, but that's besides the point. You can't just go around punching my friends! Why would you do that?"

Ethan stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, looking down at her. "He was saying things about you."

"Oh really." Kayla responded, not believing him, "And what exactly did he say?"

Ethan shrugged, looking down at his feet. "A bunch of crap about you belonging to him, and he was gonna get you for himself."

Kayla narrowed her eyes, not really believing him. "Why should I believe you over him? I've known him much longer than you, I trust him."

Ethan's head snapped up, his green eyes were on fire. Before Kayla knew what was happening he grabbed her forearm and pulled her close to his face.

"I don't want you anywhere near him, got it? You're mine, not his."

Kayla glared up into his eyes. "You have no right to say that to me. I'm my own person, whether you like it or not. In fact, while we're on this subject, we're through. I want nothing more to do with you and I never want to speak to you again. We're done."

Ethan's eyes darkened and his grip on her arm tightened. "What?" he asked darkly.

Kayla refused to give in. "You heard me. Now let me go and leave before I call the police." she wouldn't really call the police, she could easily handle him herself if she needed to, but she figured the police threat would be more intimidating.

Ethan narrowed his eyes for a moment. Then, he did something Kayla wasn't expecting. He punched her in the gut. Kayla hunched forward, the pain more excruciating due to her stitches. She felt sick, like she was going to throw up.

She was straightened up when Ethan's hand went to her neck and pressed her against the wall. He balled his free hand into a fist and drew it back. Kayla grabbed onto his wrist with her own hand in an attempt to stop him from punching her, but she was weak from the punch and was finding it hard to breath with Ethan pressing on her throat.

"What the heck is goin' on here?" a voice shouted from the top of the staircase a couple meters away.

Ethan immediately let go and stepped back as Kayla slouched against the wall, breathing a bit heavily. She flicked her hair out of her eyes and looked over to see Casey glaring at Ethan. He was wearing a white wife beater with grease stains, old worn blue jeans, his black hair was messy, and he was holding a tool box.

Ethan cleared his throat awkwardly before nodding a greeting to Casey. "Um, hi. I'm Ethan. Are you, uh, Kayla's…dad?" he asked uncertainly.

Casey glanced at Kayla, who looked at the ground under his gaze, before he looked back at Ethan. "My relation to Kay is none a' your concern. Now, get the shell off'a my property before I take a wrench to your skull." he threatened darkly, and Kayla could tell by the glint in his hazel eyes that he meant it.

Ethan nodded and carefully walked past Casey, but he stopped at the top of the stairs. "I'll see you at school, Kay."

Kayla glared at him. "What I said before still stands. Stay away from me, and my friends."

Ethan glared at her for a moment, but kept his threat short under Casey's glare. "You know what, good. You're not worth the time, I can think of several girls much easier than you." he said before hurrying down the stairs, probably scared of what Casey would do to him.

Kayla sighed, feeling calmer with him gone. Casey rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Ya alright?" he asked.

Kayla lifted one side of her mouth in a half-smile and nodded. Casey looked her over.

"You're bleedin'." he pointed out, making Kayla look down. Sure enough, blood was seeping through her T-shirt where her stitches were. Ethan probably reopened them by punching her.

"At least I'm wearing an old T-shirt." Kayla joked before looking up at Casey. "Thanks, Case."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It was nothin', but I think ya got some explainin' ta do."

Kayla looked away from him as she closed her eyes and sighed. After a moment she nodded, finally giving up. Her family deserved the truth.

Casey rested his hand on her back and gently guided her to the apartment door and opened it. Everyone stopped talking among themselves and looked up at them.

April stood up. "Casey?"

Casey smiled gently at his fiancé before looking at Don. "Hey Brainiac, she needs a patch job." he nodded to Kayla, who stared at her socked feet to avoid looking at anyone.

"What happened?" Raph demanded angrily, "Who was at da door?"

Kayla glanced up with her eyes for less than a second before looking back at her feet. "I promise I'll tell everyone everything, but there's probably going to be a lot of yelling, so can Don fix my stitches first?" she asked quietly. Everyone in the room glanced at each other with a mix of curiosity and worry. After a moment Leo nodded and Don lead Kayla to the bathroom.

When Don was finished they walked back into the living room. Everyone was waiting patiently, well impatiently in Raph's case.

Raph was leaning against the wall, Mikey was sitting in the recliner with Klunk, Casey was sitting backwards in a kitchen chair, Splinter and Leo were sitting on the couch, Don took a seat in a kitchen chair next to the couch, and April was sitting on the arm of the couch. The redhead patted the open seat on the couch between her and Leo. Kayla chewed her bottom lip nervously as she obeyed, sitting between her friend and her oldest brother.

"So, who was he?" Raph asked sternly.

"Raphael." Splinter scolded. "Let your sister speak. She is very conflicted, she deserves your patience right now, not your temper."

Raph bowed his head and everyone looked at Kayla expectantly.

Kayla pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the floor. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Okay, um…about a month or less into the school year Ethan saw me at a football game and…asked me to the homecoming dance. I really didn't want to go, I didn't know him that well and I had this weird feeling in my gut telling me not to, but I just figured it was because I'm not comfortable with new people. And Sensei's always telling us to get out of our comfort zones and it was just one dance, so I figured…why not?"

"But ya didn't go to a dance." Raph pointed out, confused. Kayla looked guiltily up at him and he looked shocked.

"I helped her get ready over here, but I didn't know you had a date." April spoke up, looking down at Kayla.

Kayla shrugged, her legs still folded up to her chest. "I didn't want to tell anyone. I figured it would be a onetime thing. But after the dance he asked if we could try…being a couple. I didn't really want to but…he asked me to just give him a chance and…I couldn't say no…" Kayla's voice trailed off.

"So…you got a boyfriend…and you never told us?" Don summed up, his voice giving away that he was slightly hurt.

Kayla glanced up at him before looking back at the ground. "To be honest, Don…I was gonna tell you…the night Shredder attacked? While the others were skating and you called me out on why I was avoiding you guys? I was literally _this _close," Kayla held up her thumb and index finger less than an inch from each other, "to telling you the truth. But then the Foot attacked and I obviously lost my chance."

"Why were you willing to tell Don and no one else?" Leo asked curiously, not offended at all, just curious.

Kayla shrugged one shoulder. "I felt like he'd be the only one who wouldn't tease me or yell at me or anything, I guess."

"I wouldn't yell at you." Mikey argued, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.

Kayla blinked at him. "Yeah, but you would've teased me to the moon and back, and you would've told Raph."

Mikey looked at the ground and nodded. "This is true." he agreed.

Raph threw his arms up. "Why does everyone think me knowin' somethin' is the worst possible thing in the world?!"

"You really want me to answer that?" Kayla asked dryly.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Whateva. Why'd ya get a boyfriend, anyway? What happened ta our agreement of no boyfriends?"

Kayla gave him a look that said 'seriously?'. "Raph, you made me sign that agreement when I was, like, five. And I signed it in crayon."

Everyone laughed, which only made Raph roll his eyes and cross his arms again.

"Anyway, lets let her finish her story." Leo suggested, making everyone quiet down so Kayla could continue.

"Well, he kinda made me hang out with him, like, all the time. I couldn't really hang out with my friends anymore. It caused some tension between me and Alana. We got in a fight about it and didn't talk for about a week. Marcus finally convinced her to talk to me and we got through it."

"How come we didn't know about it?" Don asked curiously.

"I didn't want to tell you guys cause you would've asked what caused it, and I didn't want to tell you guys about Ethan." Kayla explained, looking down at her hands, which were linked together to hold her legs to her chest.

"Then what happened?" April asked gently.

"Well, nothing much, but I kinda noticed that Ethan didn't like Marcus too much. I wasn't sure why until today. Apparently Ethan punched Marcus at school because he knew Marcus was coming to see me, and I guess he was kinda jealous of that. He followed Marcus and Alana here, and that was him outside. I finally broke up with him, something I should've done a long time ago, and he didn't take it too well. He punched me in the stomach, which reopened my stitches, and he was about to punch me in the face when Casey stepped in and made him leave."

The room was quiet before Raph spoke. "He punched you?" he repeated, his voice tense with rage. He turned and opened the window. "What way did he go?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Raph, cool down. He's gone. He can't hurt Kayla here."

"But what about at school?" Don asked. "They go to school together, and it's not like we can go there with her."

"Guys, it's fine. I can handle anything he tries at school. I handled Alex last year, didn't I?" Kayla reassured her brothers.

"Old habits die hard." Splinter spoke cautiously, "I don't want you getting in trouble, Kayla. I don't want you to become the person you became under Leonardo's absence."

Kayla and Leo both looked down and away awkwardly. "Yes, Sensei." she whispered.

"But what if dis Ethan guy tries somethin' at school?" Raph argued with their father, "Ya sayin' she can't defend herself?"

"I am not saying that, Raphael. I'm saying that there are ways of defending oneself without the need for violence. Kayla is creative, and a skilled ninja. If she finds herself in a tight situation I'm sure she can get herself out of it without too much difficulty."

Kayla nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll just avoid him whenever possible, and if he approaches me, I'm a ninja. I'll just disappear." Kayla smirked smugly, making her brothers and friends laugh. Raph, however, was still looking doubtful with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright, fine. But I want ya ta promise me one thing." he reasoned.

Kayla looked up at him, "Okay." she agreed cautiously.

"No more secrets." Raph demanded sternly.

Kayla smiled slightly, her brown eyes warm as they met Raph's golden brown eyes, ones that held determination and a spark of concern.

"I promise."


	20. Chapter 20

**For the first part of this chapter, I just wanted to get a little sidetracked**

**XXX**

Kayla strummed the strings of her guitar quietly as she sat cross-legged on the couch. Her guitar was one of the things Leo had brought from the lair to keep her entertained.

It was Friday night, Raph had gone out with Casey to do some vigilante work, though they had to be extra careful and if they see any signs of the Foot they have to hide and make sure the coast is clear before they come back. Casey was also in charge of making sure Raph didn't do anything stupid, like track down Ethan. Sensei had specified that no vengeful action would be taken against Ethan unless he continued giving Kayla trouble, which he hadn't yet, but it had only been one day.

Mikey, Don, and April were currently meditating with Splinter in the spare bedroom, apparently Sensei thought the two youngest brothers needed to catch up on their training.

"I don't recognize that song." a quiet voice spoke up from around the corner. Kayla stopped and looked up, seeing Leo standing there with his hands on his belt, watching her with a gently curious expression.

Kayla blushed slightly and looked down. "Oh, um, yeah." she mumbled quietly as Leo sat on the floor in front of her.

"What song is it?" he asked curiously, leaning back on his hands with his legs crossed.

Kayla looked at her bare feet in her lap. "It's…well, it's just a song I used to sing a lot while you were gone. Kinda made me think of you."

"Could you play it?" Leo asked with a gentle smile, tilting his head slightly. Kayla smiled at the ground and nodded her head before she continued strumming.

(I'm Still Here-Vertical Horizon)

"_I found the pieces in my hand_

_They were always there_

_It just took some time for me to understand_

_You gave me words I just can't say_

_So if nothing else, I'll just hold on while you drift away_

_Cause everything you wanted me to hide, _

_is everything that makes me feel alive_

_The cities grow, the rivers flow, where you are I'll never know_

_But I'm still here_

_If you were right and I was wrong,_

_Why are you the one who's gone?_

_And I'm still here (still here)_

_I've seen the ashes in my heart_

_I smile the widest when I cry inside and my insides blow apart_

_I try to wear another face just to make you proud_

_Just to make you put me in my place_

_But everything you wanted from me_

_Is everything that I could never be_

_The cities grow, the rivers flow, where you are I'll never know_

_But I'm still here_

_If you were right and I was wrong,_

_Why are you the one who's gone?_

_And I'm still here_

_Maybe tonight it's gonna be alright_

_I will get better_

_Maybe today it's gonna be okay_

_I will remember_

_I held the pieces of my soul_

_I was shattered and I wanted you to come and make me whole_

_Then I saw you yesterday_

_But you didn't notice and you just walked away_

_Cause everything you wanted me to hide_

_Is everything that makes me feel alive_

_The cities grow, the rivers flow, where you are I'll never know_

_But I'm still here_

_If you were right and I was wrong,_

_Why are you the one who's gone?_

_And I'm still here (still here)_

_The lights go out, the bridges burn_

_Once you go you can't return_

_But I'm still here_

_Remember how you used to say I'd be the one to run away_

_But I'm still here_

_I'm still here_

_Still here."_

Kayla blushed as Leo clapped slowly. She smiled and rested her hands on the top of her guitar.

"I remember that song." a voice spoke, making Leo and Kayla look up. Mikey walked around the corner followed by Don.

"You've heard this song?" Kayla questioned, tilting her head slightly.

Mikey blushed and sat on the floor next to Leo. "Well…I used to sit outside your bedroom door and listen to you sing that song. I'd usually be holding my old baby blanket and I'd end up falling asleep outside your door." he admitted, his normally green cheeks flushed a dark red.

"I never saw you outside my bedroom door." Kayla mentioned as she thought back to the dozens of times she'd played the song in her bedroom.

"A couple times he actually managed to wake up before you the next morning," Don answered, "but most of the times I had to wake him up before I went to bed."

Kayla smiled while Mikey blushed even darker, if that was even possible.

XXX

Kayla stuffed the textbooks for her classes into her backpack before closing her locker. Because of her stitches she was allowed to carry her things in her backpack so she wouldn't hurt herself.

It was Monday morning. Don, April, and Splinter all thought she'd be ready to go back to school now. However, she either had to be driven or walked to school or have a couple certain brothers follow her, and she couldn't ride her skateboard or K-Cycle in case she wiped-out. She also wasn't allowed to participate in gym class, which really sucked.

So, overall, there was really no upside to being back in school because all the things she actually enjoyed about school were technically taken away.

Kayla blew her bangs out of her face and turned to look down the hallway. She saw Marcus walking with Braden and Tyler. He saw her and waved goodbye to his friends before he broke off from them and headed toward her.

"Hey, wasn't expecting to see you back so soon. I figured you'd have fought tooth and nail to prevent coming back here." Marcus joked as he stopped in front of her.

"Oh, believe me, I did." Kayla answered jokingly, "but it's kinda hard to fight back when you're in a family of ninjas."

Marcus nodded. "So how was the rest of your little vacation?"

Kayla grimaced and Marcus's smile quickly changed into a frown. "What happened?" he asked nervously.

"Hey, Kayla!" Kayla and Marcus looked behind Marcus to see Alana and Katie coming towards them. Kayla sighed. There was really no way of getting around telling them. So she told them the truth. The whole truth, just like what she told her family a few days back, actually including that into the story. When she finished her friends stared at her, Katie had her mouth open in shock.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alana asked, "I thought you were happy with Ethan. If I'd known you weren't I would have felt even worse for our argument a few weeks back. Why'd you stay with him for so long?"

Kayla shrugged. "I guess my pride just got the better of me. I don't exactly like to admit when I make a mistake."

"So, what exactly did Ethan say before he left?" Katie asked curiously.

Kayla thought for a moment. "Something along the lines of 'I can find lots of girls way easier than you'."

Alana and Katie both made disgusted faces, both realizing what he meant. Marcus just looked mad.

"He is such a jerk." Marcus muttered, crossing his arms.

"Hey Kayla? Do you think Allison would be considered 'easy' by Ethan's standards?" Alana asked curiously.

Kayla thought for a moment. "Allison Conner?" Alana nodded, "Yeah probably. Why?"

Alana pointed behind Kayla, making her look over her shoulder. Sure enough, Ethan was walking down the hall with Allison Conner clinging to his arm, laughing in a loud obnoxious voice, probably thinking it sounded flirty. Kayla couldn't help but smile. Not a warm smile, just a simple smile showing she was happy, but not for them. She was happy because with Ethan having a new, 'easier' obsession he'd leave her alone.

When she turned back to her friends she just shrugged and smiled. "Eh. They're perfect for each other."

Her friends couldn't help but laugh.


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry for the semi-uneventful chapter, just trying to keep the story moving.**

Mikey was jolted awake by an unfortunately familiar scream. He stumbled out of his bedroom, tripping over Klunk in the process. He hurried toward Kayla's room.

It was the beginning of February. They hadn't seen any movement from the Foot and no sign of Shredder for a while so they came home a couple days before Christmas. To say they were glad to be home was an understatement. They didn't start carrying on patrols until after New Years though, just in case. Kayla also said that Ethan hadn't been giving her anymore trouble since she dumped him, though Mikey thought Raph secretly was hoping he would just so the hothead would have an excuse to beat him to a pulp.

Mikey stumbled to a halt next to Raph outside Kayla's bedroom door. He could see her thrashing in her sleep, screaming at someone to stop, saying things like, 'Don't hurt them'. Those were the normal when it came to Kay's nightmares.

Since their fight with Shredder, Kay's nightmares picked up. Don said she had about four nightmares a week, almost every other day. It was horrible while they were staying at April and Casey's place. Kayla always felt terrible about waking everyone up, especially after everything April and Casey have done for them.

Leo rushed past his brothers and hurried to Kayla's bed. Mikey just watched with his other brothers as Leo worked his magic. It took a good fifteen, twenty minutes to calm her down. Mikey turned to Donatello.

"Hey Donny, how many is that this week?" he asked curiously.

Don thought for a moment. "That's the fourth one this week, I think."

Mikey smiled and nodded. "Dudes, that's perfect!"

Everyone turned to stare at him. Even Kayla lifted her head off Leo's chest to look at her orange-masked brother in confusion.

"Now she won't have a nightmare on her birthday." Mikey pointed out with a huge grin. Kayla rolled her eyes and dropped her head back against Leo's chest.

XXX

The next day was Friday February 3rd, Kayla's 18th birthday. Alana, Katie, Marcus, Casey, and April all came over to hang out around six in the afternoon. Kayla begged and pleaded for: 1. No pizza for dinner, and 2. No cake. She was still sick of cake from when Mikey kept bringing home leftover birthday cake from his work as Cowabunga Carl.

So they agreed on hamburgers that Casey and Raph grilled on the rooftop for dinner, and April made a dessert pizza, ironically, for dessert. It had a sugar cookie crust topped with vanilla frosting and pieces of fruit.

Dinner went interesting considering Raph snuck cayenne pepper flakes in Mikey's burger. It was hilarious to everyone except Mikey, and Kayla managed to grab her camera and videotape him running around screaming like a girl. He ended up dunking his head in the sink and running water into his mouth. Afterwards they gathered in the TV area so Kayla could open presents.

April bought Kayla some new jeans and a leather jacket. Casey bought her a hockey jersey. Katie bought Kayla a new sketchpad, which she really needed after all the drawing she did at April's. Alana bought her a _Transformers 2 _movie poster. Marcus got her a Linkin Park CD. Leo got her several of her favorite true stories, _The Diary of Anne Frank_, _Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World_, _Night_, and _Marley and Me_. Mikey bought her a video game, though Kayla knew it was one he really wanted so it was more a gift for him. Raph gave Kayla's K-Cycle a tune-up while Don upgraded her helmet, adding features like night vision to it. She couldn't wait to try those out. Finally, Splinter bought her a large book on the history of Ancient Japan.

Afterwards everyone was pretty much chilling in the TV area, Kayla sitting on the couch between Marcus and Katie.

Don stood up from where he was sitting on a chair next to the couch. He moved to stand in front of the TV.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and terrapin brothers alike, the moment you've all been waiting for." he announced as he held up a DVD with a huge, mischievous smile.

Kayla looked at him suspiciously. "Don?" she asked warningly, "What are you doing?"

Don put the DVD in the player and simply smiled a huge grin at her as he sat back down in his seat, pushing the play button on the remote.

The TV screen flashed on to show a huge stage with two teenage girls walking to the center, one standing at a keyboard while the other stood at a microphone.

"Don!" Kayla lurched forward and screamed at him in embarrassment before grabbing a pillow behind her and covering her face.

"What are you so embarrassed about? You guys placed." April pointed out just as Katie started playing the piano on the TV.

"And you performed this in front of, what, a couple hundred people?" Don added. Kayla simply groaned before peaking over the edge of the pillow as she heard herself start singing _Sound the Bugle_ on the TV.

Marcus, who was smiling, narrowed his eyes suddenly and leaned forward a bit. "Wait a minute, when was this?"

"Well, we were sophomores. It was some big teens music contest. My music teacher recommended I sing, and I didn't want to do it alone so I asked Katie to play the piano." Kayla answered with a shrug.

"Wait…did first place go to…someone who sang, like, _Die Young_ or something like that?" Marcus asked quietly. Kayla and Katie looked at each other thoughtfully before looking back at him and nodding. "I was there." Marcus pointed at the TV screen. "I remember this. I just didn't realize it was you two, this was before I met you."

"You were there?" Kayla repeated, "That's weird and actually kinda cool."

"Everything about us is weird and cool, in case ya haven't figured that out yet." Mikey pointed out with his big, 'Mikey' smile. Raph rolled his eyes.

"Nothin's weirder than you, Mike." he joked, making everyone but Mikey laugh. They spent the next hour watching several of Kayla's past performances.

After they watched the last one Kayla sighed. "Finally! The end of the torture."

"I think Kay should give us an encore performance." Katie suggested, earning a smack on the arm from Kayla.

"I agree with Katie." Leo spoke as he leaned on his elbows on the back of the couch, smiling down at his sister.

Kayla grimaced at them, but she knew she wasn't getting out of it.

"Here, you'll need this." Raph said, holding her guitar out to her. Kayla looked from her guitar to back at him, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"What part of 'don't go in my room EVER' did you not get?" she asked as she took the guitar from him.

Raph shrugged with a smirk. "Eh, what can I say? You're 'bout as threatenin' as Klunk."

Kayla rolled her eyes as she took a seat in front of everyone on a chair Don placed in front of the TV. "Any requests?" she asked in a 'let's get this over with' tone.

"Ooh! Ooh! I got one!" Katie jumped off the seat and ran over to whisper in Kayla's ear. Kayla looked at her, confused.

"Why that song?" she asked in confusion.

Katie had a fake innocent smile on her face. "Oh, I just think it fits your relationship with someone in this room perfectly." she whispered so only Kayla could hear her. Kayla thought over the song and couldn't understand what she was talking about, but it was a good song.

"Alright, fine." she sighed as she began strumming her guitar.

(Pretending-Glee)

"_Face to face, and heart to heart_

_We're so close yet so far apart_

_I close my eyes, I look away_

_That's just because I'm not okay_

_But I hold on, I stay strong, wondering if we still belong"_

When Kayla reached the chorus Alana and Katie started clapping to the beat, getting everyone to join in.

"_Will we ever say the words we're feeling_

_Reach down underneath it, tear down all the walls_

_Will we ever have a happy ending_

_Or will we forever only be pretending?_

_Will we a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always be _

_Pretending_

_How long do I fantasize_

_Make believe that it's still alive_

_Imagine that I am good enough, _

_and we can choose the ones we love_

_But I hold on, I stay strong, wondering if we still belong_

_Will we ever say the words we're feeling_

_Reach down underneath it, tear down all the walls_

_Will we ever have a happy ending_

_Or will we forever only be pretending?_

_Will we a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always be _

_Keeping secrets safe_

_Every move we make_

_Seems like no one's letting go_

_And it's such a shame cause if you feel the same_

_How am I supposed to know?_

_Will we ever say the words we're feeling_

_Reach down underneath it, tear down all the walls_

_Will we ever have a happy ending_

_Or will we forever only be pretending?_

_Will we a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always be _

_Will we a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always be _

_Will we a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always_

_a-a-a-always be _

_Pretending"_

Everyone applauded and Kayla felt her face burn as she blushed. When the clapping had subsided Raph spoke up from where he was standing by Leo behind the couch.

"Why'd ya pick that song?" Raph asked, looking down at Katie.

Katie, still sporting an 'innocent' smile, shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Just thought it was a good song."

"More like a sappy song." Raph rolled his eyes.

"Would you prefer something different Raphie?" Kayla asked teasingly, making Raph narrow his eyes at the old kiddie nickname.

To keep Raph semi-happy Kayla decided to play What I've Done by Linkin Park.

XXX

**Sorry for the sudden ending, but I couldn't think of anything **

**else to add to this chapter**


	22. Chapter 22

The sliding brick doors slid open and Marcus stepped into the abandoned subway station Sunday afternoon. Looking around, it seemed empty, but he finally spotted a few figures in the kitchen.

"Hey guys." Marcus said as he stepped into the kitchen. Alana, Katie, Mikey and Don were seated at the kitchen table eating cookies while Raph was leaning against the counter with his hands holding the edge of the counter.

"Sup Dude?" Mikey responded as he did a fist bump with Marcus, making everyone else laugh. Marcus looked around.

"Hey, where's Kay and Leo?" he asked curiously.

"Fearless Leader's meditatin' with Sensei." Raph answered, pointing his thumb in the direction of Splinter's room.

"And Kayla?" Marcus asked.

Everyone in the room glanced at each other and kept quiet.

"What?" Marcus asked worriedly.

Alana looked over her shoulder at him. "You don't know what today is, do you?" it was more of a statement than a question.

"Um…Sunday?" he asked, knowing that's not what they were talking about but he had no other ideas.

Don smiled sympathetically up at him. "Today's the anniversary of the day Kayla's mom passed away."

Raph snorted. "Passed away. She was murdered by Shredder, Brainiac."

"I was putting it gently. You know the whole subject is touchy with Kayla, Raph." Don snapped, glaring up at his older brother.

Raph rolled his eyes but kept quiet.

"So, where is she?" Marcus asked curiously.

The others kept quiet but Raph nodded his head to the side, gesturing for Marcus to follow him. He lead him over to the dojo. Marcus had only been in it about twice before to watch their sparring matches.

Raph stopped in the doorway and peaked in, leaving enough room for Marcus to peak inside with him.

Kayla was sitting on the floor on the far side of the room with her guitar in her lap, playing and singing quietly.

(Slipped Away- Avril Lavigne)

"_Na-na _

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_I miss you_

_Miss you so bad_

_I don't forget you, oh it's so sad_

_I hope you can hear me_

_I remember it clearly_

_The day you slipped away_

_Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh_

_Na-na _

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_I didn't get around to kiss you goodbye on the hand_

_I wish that I could see you again_

_I know that I can't, oh_

_I hope you can hear me_

_Cause I remember it clearly_

_The day you slipped away_

_Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh_

_I've had my wake up_

_Won't you wake up?_

_I keep asking why_

_And I can't take it_

_It wasn't fake it_

_It happened you passed by_

_Now you're gone_

_Now you're gone_

_There you go_

_There you go_

_Somewhere I can't bring you back_

_Now you're gone_

_Now you're gone_

_There you go_

_There you go_

_Somewhere you're not coming back_

_The day you slipped away_

_Was the day I found it won't be the same, no_

_The day you slipped away_

_Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh_

_Na-na _

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_I miss you"_

Marcus glanced around to see Raph had left him alone in the doorway. He looked back to see Kayla wipe her face, probably wiping tears away.

"You can come in, Marcus." she spoke quietly, surprising Marcus that she knew he was there. But he took the invitation and crossed the room.

"Ninja thing?" he guessed with a small smile before he sat next to her, referring to her knowing he was there.

She smiled slightly at him before looking forward and nodding.

"I didn't want to interrupt you. Do you want me to leave?" he offered. Kayla shook her head.

"No that's fine. I don't mind it. I was just…singing for my mom." she explained as she gestured to a framed photograph sitting upright in front of her on the ground. It was a picture of a beautiful Japanese woman, about in her mid to late twenties, with brown eyes, and smooth dark brown hair with slight waves. She was wearing a simple black jumpsuit was a katana strapped to her back.

The first thing Marcus noticed was she had the same eyes as Kayla. Actually she resembled Kayla quite a bit apart from her nose being slightly narrower, her jaw a tiny bit wider, and of course her hair was a dark brown while Kayla's was black. You could definitely tell they were related.

"You look a lot like her." he murmured quietly.

Kayla blinked before narrowing her eyes slightly and tilting her head, seeming to examine the photo. Marcus couldn't help thinking she looked kinda cute when she did that.

"Everyone says that, I don't see it. My mom was way more beautiful than me." Kayla spoke quietly.

"You're just as beautiful as her." Marcus argued before he could stop himself. Kayla ducked her head, trying to fight a smile as her face turned bright red. Marcus looked away and scratched the back of his neck, knowing he was about as red as her.

"Thanks." Kayla whispered almost silently, avoiding eye contact.

After several moments of semi-comfortable silence Marcus asked, "So, do you sing to your mom every year?" he asked carefully, remembering Don saying it was a touchy subject for her.

Kayla shrugged one shoulder as she absentmindedly plucked at her guitar strings. "I decided to have at least one day of the year to honor my mom. I mean, she gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect me. If it weren't for her I'd either be dead or in the Foot Clan. She knew she'd die by protecting me, and she did it anyway. I figure, this is the least I can do." she explained quietly.

Marcus looked at her, studying her face as she gazed at the floor in front of her. "Your mom would be really proud of you." he said quietly. That made her look up at him. Her eyes were slightly wide, showing mild shock at what he said. "I know you're probably told that a lot, but I really do believe that. From what Master Splinter has told me about your mom, I know she'd be proud of the person you've become."

Kayla looked doubtfully at him before looking back at the picture in front of her. "What is there to be proud of? What have I done that's so great?"

Marcus rolled his eyes and grinned at her. "Seriously? Where do I begin? You're smart, strong, able to hold your own in a family of guys, you're able to fight a whole clan of ninjas, you've put your life on the line for both people you care for and people you don't even know. You're amazing. Any parent would be lucky to call you their daughter." Marcus paused to let everything he said sink in, and was shocked when Kayla looked up at him, her eyes were watering and she had a small smile on her face.

"That is single-handedly the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." she whispered, using one hand to wipe a couple tears that had fallen down her cheek.

Marcus leaned back against the wall, realizing he'd been leaning closer to her. "Yeah, well, I…I didn't mean to make you cry." he pointed out with a nervous chuckle. Hopefully Raph wouldn't beat him up for making her cry.

"It's okay. They're not bad tears." Kayla laughed gently and grinned up at him, making him grin back.


	23. Chapter 23

Marcus paused at the corner and peaked around the edge of the brick wall of the school hallway. Kayla was at her locker, putting her bag away.

"What are you waiting for?" a voice asked from behind Marcus, making him jump slightly and look over his shoulder, finding Tyler standing behind him with his arms crossed.

"Um…what are you talking about?" Marcus asked nervously.

Tyler raised one eyebrow at him. "Don't give me that, you moron. I know what you have planned, so get it over with already." he ordered, giving Marcus a shove in the direction of Kayla's locker. Marcus glared at his 'supposed' best friend before looking nervously over at Kayla, who hadn't noticed him yet. He took one last look at the small box in his hands before taking a deep breath and forcing his feet to move.

He hid the box behind his back as he stopped at Kayla's locker. She looked up and smiled at him as she stood up with her textbooks in her arms.

"Hey Marcus. How's it going?" she greeted him with a genuine smile. Seeing her smile suddenly made Marcus even more nervous and he felt his throat get dry. Kayla looked at him, a mix of confusion and amusement in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked lightly, a gentle smile still on her face. Marcus looked at the ground to clear his thoughts and shifted nervously on his feet.

"Um, yeah I'm fine. I just, uh…" Marcus cleared his throat again and let out a breath before looking back up at her. Before he lost his cool again he held out the box to her. "Happy Valentine's Day." he said nervously as she took the box from him.

Yep, it was Tuesday, February 14th, otherwise known as Valentine's Day.

Kayla's mouth was open slightly as she looked down at the box in her free hand as she held her books in her other hand. It was a moderately sized, red, heart-shaped box with her name written in cursive letters across the lid. All rational thought flew out the window and she almost forgot to even breathe.

"I know this is probably awkward and all, and a bit cliché, and I completely get it if you say no, but…well I was wondering if you'd be my Valentine?" Marcus asked nervously, biting his lip as he watched Kayla for any reaction.

Kayla closed her mouth and tried not to smile, failing miserably and she knew her face was bright red. She glanced up at him and nodded quickly, not trusting her voice. Obvious relief washed over Marcus's face at her reaction and a huge smile broke out over his face.

He looked at his shoes and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "Open it." he suggested gently.

Kayla furrowed her eyebrows at him in confusion, but she was still smiling as she lifted the lid off the box. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open slightly.

It was a box of chocolates, but that's not what she saw.

There was a small note in the box on top of the chocolates. It read:

_Will you go out with me Friday night? -Marcus_

Kayla's head snapped up to stare at Marcus in shock. He looked nervous as he watched her for a moment. Finally, his nervousness got the better of him.

"I get it if you don't want to. I don't want this to, like, ruin our friendship or something, and I get your last relationship didn't go too well. This was a really stupid idea and I get if you don't want-"

"Yes."

Marcus's head snapped up when he heard the small voice. "What?" he whispered.

Kayla was smiling at him. "I said, 'yes'. I'd like to go out with you Friday night."

XXX

Kayla pulled her leather jacket on over her outfit, checking herself over in the mirror quick. She was wearing a semi-casual long-sleeved blue shirt, black skinny jeans, and her favorite Rocket Dog sneakers. She had April cut a few inches off her hair a few days ago so that it went down to just below her shoulder blades. Instead of doing something big with it, since she had patrol later, Kayla had settled with straightening it.

Deciding she looked fine, Kayla hurried out of her bedroom. Raph was seated on the couch next to Mikey, Mikey had one ankle up on his other knee and Raph was sitting slouched down with his legs spread apart. Kayla took a deep breath and hurried past them, hoping to get past them without answering any questions.

"Where're ya goin'?"

Kayla stopped and looked innocently over her shoulder at him. "Out." she answered, like it was obvious.

Raph narrowed his eyes at her. "You're dressed up nice. Ya know we have patrol in a few hours, right?"

Kayla opened her mouth to make a rude comment on his nosiness, when she felt a clawed hand on her shoulder.

"Your sister has asked my permission to go out this evening, Raphael, and I have granted it. She will meet up with you and your brothers for patrol later this evening." Splinter answered from where he stood beside his daughter.

Kayla had asked him permission to 'hang out' with Marcus, she didn't specify that it was a date, yet. They had come to an agreement that she could go as long as she helped with patrol later that night and kept her shell cell on her at all times in case of an emergency.

Kayla smiled and hugged her father. "Thanks Sensei. Bye guys." she smiled at her brothers and waved before hurrying out of the lair, hearing Mikey yell bye after her.

She hurried to Marcus's apartment, where they agreed to meet. She saw him waiting outside the front door, wearing jeans and a light jacket. When he saw her he smiled, making her smile back.

They greeted each other before crossing the crosswalk.

"So, what's the plan?" Kayla asked curiously, trying to contain her excitement.

Marcus smiled at her. "Well, I was thinking we could go to a movie first, then get some hotdogs and ice cream and go for a walk in Central Park. That okay?" he asked, sounding slightly nervous.

Kayla smiled back at him. "I'd like that." she answered.

So, they went to the cinema to see a movie they could both agree on: Transformers 2. They both got sodas and shared a large popcorn, which meant they had to slightly lean towards each other so they could both reach the popcorn. Halfway into the movie Kayla accidentally dropped a handful of popcorn on Marcus's arm and lap. Marcus smirked over at her before grabbing a handful and dumping it on her lap. They both laughed until they were shushed by the people in front of them.

After the movie they walked to Central Park and bought hotdogs and ice cream cones, eating them as they walked through the park. As they ate the ice cream Marcus took Kayla's hand gently in his own. Kayla tried hiding her smile by eating her ice cream, but at the same time she looked down and studied their hands. Their fingers were linked together and their skin tones contrasted, his skin slightly darker than hers. She also noticed his hand was warm, but not an uncomfortable warm that makes your hands sweat, just warm enough that she didn't want to let go.

But, like all other good things, their night had to end eventually. Close to ten thirty that night they stopped outside Marcus's apartment door.

"I still think _I _should be the one walking _you_ home." Marcus pointed out as they faced each other, stilling holding hands while their other hands stayed by their sides.

"That's sexist." Kayla teased lightly with an innocent smile, "Letting the guy always drop the girl off is so sexist and cliché. Besides, if the Foot saw us at all and attacked you while you're alone it'd be all my fault. I can barely hold them off on my own, and I'm a trained ninja, thank you very much."

Marcus shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but the guys said that none of you have seen any signs of them in months. Maybe they left or something."

Kayla grimaced. "I doubt it. Something as evil as the Shredder doesn't just give up or leave. Not when he wants revenge this badly. Trust me, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Marcus nodded, but still looked slightly worried. "You've got your shell cell, right?" he checked.

Kayla smiled reassuringly and nodded. "It's in my back pocket. Don't worry, if I got in any trouble I'd call my brothers and they'd be there in a heartbeat."

Marcus looked more at ease and nodded. "Good. Well, I'd better let you get going. Wouldn't want your brothers freaking out or anything." Marcus stopped smiling for a second and looked thoughtful. "So…does this mean we're…you know…together?"

Kayla blushed and looked at her feet. "If you want, yeah. I'd really like that, I had a good time tonight." When she looked back up Marcus had a huge smile on his face.

"I'd like that, too. But…what about your brothers?" he asked nervously.

Kayla bit her bottom lip and thought for a moment. "How about…we wait a little while before we make anything official. Like…lets just keep this between us for a while, ya know?"

Marcus nodded with a small smile. "That's probably a good idea. To be honest, I'm kind of afraid of how Raph's gonna react." he admitted.

Kayla nodded with a deep breath. "Yeah, me too. Well I'd better go. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya." Marcus paused for a moment, looking like he was hesitating about something, before he leaned forward and gently kissed Kayla on the cheek before turning and hurrying up the steps into his apartment.

Kayla stood there for a moment, her hand on her cheek and her eyes wide. After a couple moments a smile slowly spread across her face and she was sure she was as red as a tomato.

She shook her head, trying to clear the happy fog that had seeped into her brain, and headed towards the nearest alley. She reached behind one of the dumpsters and pulled out her bow and quiver as well as a plastic bag that held her ninja outfit. She stood up and paused for half a second before spinning on her foot, bringing her leg up well above shoulder height.

Her ankle was caught in a familiar three-fingered hand only inches from a masked face.

"Well, that was rude." a voice spoke in a mock-surprised voice as her ankle was dropped.

Kayla sighed harshly and stepped back a bit. "What are you doing here, Donatello?" she asked as she picked up the bag of clothes.

Don shrugged and leaned forward, putting his weight on his bow staff. "We split up for patrols. What are you doing here?"

Kayla turned around and hid behind the tall dumpster so she could change without him seeing her. "I'm sure Sensei told you I had permission to go out before patrol, and that you guys weren't supposed to interrogate me about it."

"I'm not interrogating you." Don defended himself lightly, "You asked and I asked back."

They were silent for a bit and Don didn't speak again until Kayla pulled her black top on. "So…did you have a fun time with Marcus?" he asked casually.

Kayla froze for a moment before standing up so she could see over the dumpster. Don was leaning his shell back against the brick wall looking down at the ground. As if he could feel her looking at him he tilted his head enough to look over at her, a gentle, almost nonexistent smile on his face and a knowing glint in his chocolate brown eyes.

"You saw." Kayla all but whispered the statement, her mind almost blank in shock. Don nodded, his expression unchanging. Anger flashed through Kayla's mind.

"What the shell Don?! If any of you guys were going to follow me I would've suspected Raph, but you?! Why would you do that?"

Don stood straight up and turned to face her. "I didn't follow you, I couldn't have, none of us knew where you were. Leo assigned us different areas to patrol, I was given this neighborhood. I was skimming the streets below this building when I saw you and Marcus. I swear I didn't even know Marcus lived here." Don pointed out, nodding his head at the building Marcus lived in.

Kayla swallowed and looked at the ground, where her clothes from earlier were stuffed in the plastic bag. "What did you see?" she asked quietly.

There were several seconds of silence before Don spoke. "I saw Marcus kiss you on the cheek, if that's what you're afraid of."

Kayla didn't know what to do or say. Thoughts flew through her mind, but none of it registered.

"Kayla…Kayla look at me." Kayla forced herself to look at Don. His face showed a gentle concern. "How long has that been going on? Were you planning on telling any of us?"

Kayla nodded before she could think. "That was our first date, I swear Donny. And I was going to tell you guys. We just wanted to wait a little bit before we told anyone. We want to make sure it's the right time, ya know? And not rush into anything."

Don nodded. "I get it, especially with Raph and his temper. I won't tell anyone anything, I'll leave it up to the two of you."

Kayla smiled gratefully at her older brother. "Thanks Don."

He smiled at her. "No problem. Now, let's get going. We've gotta patrol and meet up with the others."

Kayla nodded, finished changing, and followed him up the fire escape.


	24. Chapter 24

"Come on! Come on! Let's go!" Mikey shouted from the drivers seat of the new Battle Shell, honking the horn in his haste. It used to be Mikey's Cowabunga Carl van, but they cleaned it, spray painted it a new shade of green, and Don added all kinds of equipment to it.

Don stuffed his suitcase in the back and walked around to the driver side door.

"You know, Mikey, we'd be ready to go by now if you were helping." Don pointed out, crossing his arms and looking pointedly at his younger brother. Mikey blinked and started looking at anything but the purple-masked turtle.

"Um, well, uh, I-"

Kayla heard Raph sigh as he dropped the luggage he was carrying and walked over to the door. He opened it, grabbed the tails of Mikey's mask, and dragged him out of the van.

"Owowowow!" Mikey shouted as Raph dumped him on the ground next to where Kayla was lifting luggage into the back of the van. "You know, if Leo was here he wouldn't let you do that!" Mikey shouted. "And neither would Sensei!"

Leo and Master Splinter had gone with April and Casey to the farm house the day before, which was Wednesday. It was currently Thursday, the last day of school before Spring Break, but that didn't matter for Kayla and her friends, they didn't have to go to school today because they were on their way to the farmhouse in the Battle Shell. The wedding was the coming Saturday so they had a couple days to set up before the guests started showing up.

"Yeah, but they aren't here." Raph pointed out with an evil smirk directed at the youngest turtle, before he went back to dragging the last suitcase to the van.

It was going on 9:30 in the morning by the time everything was loaded in the Battle Shell and, once the three turtles were in their hoodies, everyone got in and drove to Alana's apartment, where they'd pick up Alana and Katie, who spent the night with her cousin. The trio of girls sat in the back with the luggage, Don drove, Raph sat in the front passenger seat, and Mikey sat in the second row with Klunk curled up on his lap.

The three girls sat on the floor of the van and scooted closer together.

"So?" Alana asked curiously. Kayla looked at her in confusion, making her best friend sigh and roll her eyes. "Have you told them yet?" she asked, almost silently so the guys couldn't hear.

Kayla blushed bright red and looked away from her friends.

"You haven't told them yet?!" Katie whispered in shock, making Kayla turn even redder, if that was possible. She shook her head in response. No she hadn't told her brothers about her and Marcus being a couple yet, and it had already been about a month.

"I thought you said you were gonna tell them." Alana reminded Kayla in a scolding voice, making Kay feel like a little kid being caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"I am, I just haven't gotten around to it." Kayla mumbled, playing with the hem of her T-shirt.

"What happened last time that happened?" Alana asked rhetorically. Kayla glared at her.

"This isn't going to go the same way it went with Ethan. I never wanted to be with him in the first place, this is completely different." Kayla grumbled, her tone alone telling her friends to drop it.

About five minutes later Don pulled the Battle Shell up to the curb outside Marcus's apartment. Kayla jumped out and held the back door open so he could climb in with his suit case. Once Kayla was back inside the van started moving again. She sat between Katie and Marcus, snuggling into him while he put his arm around her shoulders. The only reason being that the back of the back seat shielded them from her brothers' view.

Katie smirked teasingly at them before putting her hands together in a heart shape and framing Kayla and Marcus's faces with it. Kayla buried her face in Marcus's shoulder in an attempt to hide her blushing, smiling face. Marcus laughed quietly and pulled her closer to him.

The drive from New York to April and Casey's farmhouse in Northampton was about five hours long. They passed most of the time by singing along with the radio, talking, or playing any kind of game they could think of. They also stopped and had Kayla and Alana get Chinese takeout from a restaurant that they ate in the Battle Shell before moving on.

They finally pulled up the long gravel driveway at 3:18 in the afternoon. Kayla turned around and got on her knees to see over the back of the seat so she could see the farmhouse. As she watched she saw April, Casey, Splinter, and Leo come out of the front door and stood waiting on the front porch.

When Don parked the van Katie threw the trunk doors open and practically fell out of the vehicle, landing on her knees.

"Land!" she shouted dramatically. Alana looked at Kayla before they burst out laughing at her weirdness. At the same moment Leo came around the van, followed by the others who had come early.

The katana-wielding turtle offered his hand to help Katie stand up, she took it and brushed off her bare knees.

"That was a bad idea wearing shorts." Katie commented as she brushed the gravel off her knees. She was wearing gray running shorts, a pink T-shirt, and tennis shoes.

"Ya think?" Kayla asked rhetorically.

Everyone grabbed their bags and sleeping arrangements were made. The small farmhouse had a master bedroom, two spare rooms, and the attic.

The turtles and Splinter all shared the attic, April and Casey shared the master bedroom, the three girls shared the bigger of the two spare rooms, and Marcus got the other spare room.

The group basically relaxed the rest of the day to recuperate from their drive and so they could get everything set up on Friday.

XXX

Friday afternoon everyone was working together to set things up, except April and Splinter were in the kitchen making dinner for later that evening. Kayla, Alana, and Mikey were sweeping some of the hay and dirt away from the center of the barn, since that was where the reception would be. The ceremony itself was going to be at the gazebo Casey and Raph built the last time they were here.

Hearing a car horn honk, Kayla wiped sweat off her forehead and headed for the barn door to see who arrived.

Two cars, a beat up, blue Ford Fusion and an old black Chevy pickup, parked beside the Battle Shell. Kayla leaned her shoulder against the doorway of the barn as Mikey and Alana joined her to see who had arrived.

Out of the Ford stepped a young man with reddish-brown hair wearing a band T-shirt and blue jeans.

Out of the Chevy stepped a young Asian man with black hair that stuck up slightly. He was wearing a black shirt with a denim jacket over it and old jeans.

Kayla recognized both immediately.

"Dudes!" Mikey shouted, running over to the two friends they hadn't seen in a while. Kayla ran after her brother, with Alana following behind at a slower pace.

Everyone gathered around Keno and Danny, the turtles giving high fives or patting their backs.

"I didn't know you guys were coming." Kayla smiled as she gave each of them a hug.

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, April invited me."

"Same here." Keno added. April stepped up.

"Well, I'm guessing you guys don't know each other. Danny this is Keno, Keno this is Danny." the two shook hands before grabbing their suit cases.

When everyone met back up in the living room after the new arrivals put their things in the smaller spare room, Kayla decided it was a good time to finish introductions.

"Hey, Keno, Danny, these are my friends; Alana, Katie, and Marcus. Guys, this is Keno and Danny. We met Danny through April because he's her boss's son."

"And Keno was the pizza delivery boy." Mikey interrupted.

All the teens laughed at Mikey's randomness.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Katie asked rhetorically.

They continued to catch up for a few minutes before splitting up to finish preparing for the wedding. Boy was tomorrow going to be hectic!


	25. Chapter 25

**Even though this story is based in the 1990's movies as well as the 2007 movie, I wanted to add in a few characters from the 2003 series for the wedding.**

**Also, HAPPY 4****TH**** OF JULY!**

**XXX**

"Ow! Katie!" Kayla whined as the hot curling iron once again touched her neck.

"Sorry, but you need to quit twitching." Katie scolded as she put the iron down and began doing something else with Kayla's hair.

"I can't help it. I'm not good at sitting still. I was raised with four hyperactive brothers, give me a break here."

"You know, you use that excuse a lot." Alana teased as she came into the room wearing her dress. It was a simple light blue V-neck dress that went just below her knees with a white sash around her middle.

Kayla tried to glare at her, but failed since she couldn't move her head. "Hey, you complain about me being short tempered, I have four brothers. You complain about me being a tomboy, I have four brothers. You complain about me being a bit of a showoff, I have four brothers. You complain about my slight swimming obsession, I-wait. Well, that's more the fact that I was raised with four turtles." Kayla looked up slightly in thought.

"We get the point." a woman's voice laughed from the other side of the room. April's older sister Robyn had flown in from her home in California for the wedding. Luckily, she already knew about the turtles, so April was glad about that so her sister could be at the wedding. Robyn had dark red hair, just a shade darker than April's, green eyes like her sister's, and freckles covering her cheeks. She was also the maid of honor, while Alana, Kayla, and Katie were the bridesmaids. Raph, obviously, was the best man, while Leo, Don, and Mikey were the groomsmen.

The girls were currently getting ready in the master bedroom on the second floor, while the guys were in the one spare room on first floor. Robyn was doing April's hair while Katie was doing the other girls' hair.

"I'm done with your hair." Katie finally announced to Kayla, "Alana, your turn." Kayla got up from the chair and moved away so Alana could take her place. She moved to stand in front of the full body mirror to look over herself.

She was wearing the same style of dress as Alana, except it was purple. They had decided to match the bridesmaids with the groomsmen. So Robyn's dress was red and Katie's was orange. The turtles would be wearing simple tuxes with neckties that match their masks.

Kayla's hair was curled with it pinned back, hanging down around her shoulders, her bangs were straight and left down.

About ten minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"You girls ready in there?" Leo asked from outside the door.

"Yeah." April called as she stood up. Her wedding dress was a simple, white, strapless gown that flowed down and trailed slightly behind her. It had a light pink sash around her middle and rhinestones lightly decorating her chest. Her fiery, red hair was pulled up in a messy bun but it was braided up the back of her head.

"Alright, we're heading out there now." Leo called before Kayla heard his footsteps creaking down the stairs. Robyn smiled encouragingly at her little sister before handing her the bouquet of white roses.

Kayla lead the way out of the room and down the steps. She just saw Mikey leaving out the front door. They were starting.

Katie hurried past everyone, she had to be first, even before the guys walked down the isle. April remembered her amazing performance with the keyboard, so she asked if Katie'd be willing to play the piano at the ceremony. Katie had jumped at the chance and did a happy dance when April asked. Kayla peaked out the front door and heard the piano start playing. Soon after that, the guys began walking down the isle.

Master Splinter came up to the girls at the front door and April took his arm. Since April and Robyn's father passed away when they were young, April had asked Splinter if he'd walk her down the isle, since she looked to him as a father figure. He said he'd be honored to.

Finally, Alana lead the way towards the gazebo, followed be Kayla and Robyn. The three stood to one side of the gazebo steps, Katie was playing a keyboard just behind them, Casey was standing on the second step, while the turtles all stood on the opposite side of the steps. They had asked the Professor, a homeless man they became friends with, to be the preacher.

Kayla glanced at the small crowd of close friends, all of which obviously know about the guys.

Keno and Danny were in the crowd. Kayla also recognized Angel, a girl from Casey's neighborhood they'd helped before. Casey's mom was also sitting in the front row with a tissue ready in her hand.

Scanning the sea of faces, Kayla's eyes landed on Marcus. Their eyes met and he smiled at her. She smiled back and felt herself blush when he looked her over. Something nudged her elbow and she looked to her right. Alana was smirking at her with a knowing glint in her eyes. Kayla stuck her tongue out at her briefly before focusing back down the isle, where Splinter and April had began walking toward the gazebo.

The whole ceremony went perfectly, though Casey stuttered all throughout his vows, and his face was glistening with sweat. But overall it went perfectly, some of the things he said in his vows even caused some of the girls to tear up.

After the I do's the bride and groom kissed. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Jones lead the crowd across the yard to the barn, where the reception was. April and Casey sat at a long table to one side of the barn, everyone else took seats at smaller, round tables that sat five people.

As the crowd settled down in their seats Robyn took a microphone and stepped up onto the makeshift stage they'd built at the side of the barn opposite to the doors.

"Well, I'd like to thank everyone for coming today, to witness my sister April and Casey being joined for life. Living in California, I haven't really been able to talk to my sister much and I haven't really got the chance to get to know Casey that well, but I remember April talking nonstop about him whenever we talked on the phone. When they first met, she just went on and on about how annoying and incorrigible he could be."

The crowd laughed and April's face turned red.

"But as the months went by I got the distinct feeling she was developing a bit of a crush on him. I guess you could call it girls intuition, but lets just say I wasn't too surprised when April told me they were dating. From what I've seen and heard from close friends, April and Casey make a great team. Casey keeps her on her toes and she keeps him in line, but I know they'll stay by each other's side through everything. And I couldn't be happier for my little sister."

The crowd applauded as Robyn stepped off the stage and handed the microphone to Raph as he stepped up after her.

"Well, I'm clearly not the sentimental type." Raph started with a chuckle, making everyone else do the same. "So, I'll just tell some stories to embarrass these two. Well, when we first met April she screamed like crazy and started chantin' that she was dreamin'."

Everyone laughed and looked over at April, who was laughing with a bright red face.

"Now, Case was just a psycho. When we first met he beat the shell outta me with a cricket bat."

Everyone laughed even harder at this, Kayla covered her mouth with her hand to quiet herself. She remembered that night. Raph had come home extra grumpy, well, never mind, he left the lair that night extra grumpy, too, so that didn't really change.

"They were complete opposites, always fightin' an' yellin' at each other. It was pretty funny ta watch, I'll admit. But durin' it all, you could see their relationship formin'. Before long they're datin'. And I'll admit, I didn't see it comin' at the time, but I guess we all should have. And now, here we all are, watchin' these two get hitched. Lets just hope April doesn't ring his neck just yet."

Everyone laughed and clapped as Raph stepped off the stage.

The first dance was the father daughter, mother son dance. April danced with Splinter while Casey danced with his mom, the two couples dancing to the song Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle.

When the song ended Kayla stepped onto the stage and up to the microphone. April had asked her to sing a few solos.

So she sang several songs like Mine by Taylor Swift, Feels Just like Home by Melissa Etheridge, A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, and The day I Fall in Love by Dolly Pardon.

When Kayla was done singing she went to sit at a table with her friends.

"Aw! You're done already?" Katie whined. Kayla just smiled and nodded, relieved to be done with that.

Before they moved onto the next song April stepped onto the stage with the microphone in one hand and the bouquet in the other.

"Alright ladies, I'm gonna throw the bouquet!" she announced. Her words were met with a dozen or so girls and young women rushing to the stage, preparing to catch the bouquet of white roses.

"Aren't you gonna try to catch it?" Marcus asked from where he was seated next to her, nodding his head toward the stage.

Kayla shook her head. "Nah. I'm eighteen, not even graduated yet. I'm not ready to think about marriage and stuff, high school is enough stress right now as it is."

Marcus laughed and looked back at the stage. "What about her?" he asked, pointing his thumb at where Katie was shoving her way to the front.

Kayla shook her head in amusement. "That's Katie for you." she joked.

"Okay, here I go!" April shouted over her shoulder before closing her eyes and throwing it.

Several girls screamed and jumped up, but the bouquet bounced off someone's hands and flew over them, towards Kayla and Marcus.

Kayla instinctively reached her hands out, and the bouquet landed perfectly in her open palms.

Kayla's face turned bright red as she felt every gaze trained in on her, just realizing what she did. Girls voices were either awing in cuteness or disappointment, and Kayla heard Alana, Katie, and Angel cheering. Kayla didn't even want to know how her brothers were reacting, though she could hear Mikey's laugh from the other side of the barn.

"Um…okay." she whispered, letting the flowers slide off her hands and onto the tabletop.

"So much for not wanting to catch it, huh?" Marcus teased lightly, nudging her elbow with his, though his face was slightly tinted red, too. By now everyone had gone back to what they were doing before.

Kayla blushed, trying to hide her smile. "Shut up." she grumbled, nudging him back. At that moment Angel, Alana, and Katie walked up.

"There something I need to know about, Kay?" Angel asked teasingly, glancing between Kayla and Marcus.

"Very funny." Kayla retorted lightly, "I don't even know how that happened!" she exclaimed, gesturing to the flowers with her hand.

"I do." Katie announced seriously. Everyone looked questioningly up at her and her face broke into a smug grin. "It's a sign." she stated, drawing a heart in the air with her index fingers around Kayla and Marcus.

The four girls talked for a bit before Kayla felt someone's hand on her forearm. She looked to where Marcus was sitting next to her.

"Hey, um, do you wanna dance?" he asked quietly, a small nervous smile on his face. Kayla smiled back and nodded. Marcus took her hand, helped her stand up, and lead her to the dance floor. The song Can you Feel the Love Tonight? from The Lion King was just ending as they made it onto the dance floor. April had wanted to put in a few classic Disney songs, who wouldn't?

Marcus's hands rested on Kayla's waist, holding her close to him, while hers were around his neck as the song Wanted by Hunter Hayes started playing. As it started Marcus smiled down at Kayla.

"This song reminds me of you." he said softly.

Kayla tilted her head slightly. "How?"

Marcus shrugged slightly. "I just…well, like the song says. I just want you to know that I'll always be around. And that I'll always want to be with you." he answered quietly.

Kayla smiled and, surprisingly, she didn't blush. "I want to be with you, too." she whispered with a smile.

Marcus smiled back before leaning closer to her. Their lips pressed together gently and Marcus's calloused fingers brushed Kayla's cheek as he brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Her right hand moved across the back of his neck and it rested on his chest while her other hand gently fisted the hair on the back of his neck.

Across the barn, they were being watched by four pairs of eyes; two pairs of dark brown, one pair of golden brown, and one of blue.

"Well," Mikey spoke, "it's about time."

Leo looked over at Raph, who was staring at Kayla and Marcus with a glass of punch in his hand.

"What are you thinking, Raph?" Leo asked cautiously. It was no secret that Raph didn't like Kayla being around boys, especially like that. Even though they had all snickered when Kayla accidentally caught the bouquet, Leo could tell the idea of Kay getting married bothered him. Raph really didn't like anything that reminded him his little sister was growing up.

"I…I'm not sure, Leo." Raph said after a moment. Don snapped his head around to stare at his older brother in shock.

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked curiously, still watching as Kayla and Marcus stopped kissing and Kayla rested her head on Marcus's chest as they moved slowly to the music.

"I thought you didn't want her to be with anymore boys." Don pointed out, trying not to give away that he already knew about all this.

Raph glanced at his brother before looking back across the barn. "Yeah, well…I dunno. I obviously didn't like that Ethan kid, I mean we didn't know him at all an' he hurt Kay. But Marcus…we know him. We've known him a while, and he's a good kid. He's been there for Kay through a lot of crap, and he never expected anythin' in return. He respects her, and I can tell, just by watchin' 'em from over here…that Kayla's happy."

His three brothers looked from him back to Kayla. He was right. They could all see it. Kayla had a content smile on her face as Marcus held her close to him, his chin rested on her head.

"So how do you feel about that, Raph?" Leo asked, looking back at his brother once again.

"I'm glad." Raph finally answered. "You'd think I'd be angry right now, seein' her with a boy an' all, but I'm not. She finally found a boy who I know wouldn't hurt her, who I trust. There's only one problem."

"And what's that?" Mikey asked curiously, taking a sip of his punch.

"She growin' up." Raph answered quietly.

XXX

The wedding ended around midnight and when the guests had all left, everyone else decided to go to sleep and save cleaning up for morning. Kayla didn't quite feel like going to bed, so she told Alana and Katie that she was going for a walk, grabbed her NT3, and left the house. Her NT3 was like an MP3 player, except Donny built it. The NT stood for Ninja Turtles, yeah Donny's _real _clever.

Kayla climbed up onto the roof of the barn. She put her headphones around her neck so she could listen to the music and still hear the sounds around her. A cool breeze blew through her still-curly, but down, black hair. As the song switched she heard the scuff of footsteps on the shingles behind her.

(Holding on and Letting go - Ross Copperman)

Kayla scooted over slightly and soon Raph was seated next to her, gazing out over the landscape. The treetops blocked most of the view, but she could barely see the moonlight reflecting down on the lake on the other side of the trees. And the mountains in the background contrasting with the dark navy sky.

_Is anybody out there? Is anybody listening?_

_Does anybody really know if it's the end of the beginning?_

_The cry rush of one breath is all we're waiting for_

_Sometimes I want my taking_

_Changes everyone before_

"So, whatchya doin' out here this late?" Raph asked calmly, leaning back on his hands, one leg bent up while the other hung over the edge of the roof.

Kayla shrugged as she kicked her legs over the side of the roof. She was wearing a blue hoodie, gray sweatpants capris, and sneakers.

_It's everything you wanted, it's everything you don't_

_It's one door swinging open, and one door swinging closed_

_Some prayers find an answer, some prayers never know_

_We're holding on and letting go_

"Didn't feel like going to bed yet." she finally answered. She hid her hands in her sleeves and played with the fabric for a moment. "You saw, didn't you?" it was more of a statement, she could tell he was slightly edgy.

Raph let out a long, deep breath. "Saw what?" Kayla winced. He saw, but he was gonna make her say it.

Kayla looked down and away from him. "Me and Marcus kiss." she said quietly, almost silently.

_Sometimes we're holding angels and we never even know_

_Don't know if we'll make it, _

_or we know and we just can't let it show_

Raph shifted beside her. "Yeah, I saw."

Kayla flinched. "What are you gonna do?" she whispered.

To Kayla's surprise, Raph wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, snuggling her into his side.

_It's everything you wanted, it's everything you don't_

_It's one door swinging open, and one door swinging closed_

_Some prayers find an answer, some prayers never know_

_We're holding on and letting go_

_Yeah we're letting go_

"Believe it or not, I'm not mad. The bros an' I talked about it earlier, an' Leo talked to Sensei." Kayla looked up at him, he was looking out over the landscape.

"And?" she urged him to go on.

Raph smirked and looked down at her. "Well, Marcus is a good guy. We all like him, and he tolerates Mikey, so he can't be that bad." Kayla rolled her eyes at him. "Long story short, we all approve."

Kayla's head jerked up and her mouth fell open and she stared up at him. He was looking down at her, his face serious, but his golden brown eyes unusually gentle.

"Really?!" Kayla practically shouted.

_It's everything you wanted, it's everything you don't_

_It's one door swinging open, and one door swinging closed_

_Some prayers find an answer, some prayers never know_

_We're holding on and letting go_

_Whoa_

Raph smirked and chuckled at her reaction. "Yeah, really. But if he hurts you, friend or not, I will kill him." Kayla rolled her eyes at him again, "And do I need to give you the birds and the bees talk?" he asked teasingly.

Kayla's face burned bright red and she shook her head vigorously. "No! No no no and no! Definitely not!" she shouted, her face still flushed.

_It's everything you wanted, it's everything you don't_

_It's one door swinging open, and one door swinging closed_

_Some prayers find an answer, some prayers never know_

_We're holding on and letting go_

Raph smirked at her again. "Good."

They stayed up there for a few more minutes before they decided to go back inside and get some sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

The gang had decided to stay at the farmhouse for most of the week, just hanging out and relaxing. Having grill outs, bonfires, hiking, camping, swimming, and the occasional movie night.

The guys and Marcus reached a mutual understanding, Raph even gave him a bit of a warning talk. Kayla was glad it went good overall, a lot better than she thought it would.

The gang headed home Friday so they'd have the weekend to relax at home before Monday came, along with work and school. April and Casey, however, stayed at the farmhouse, where they had planned a relaxing, weeklong honeymoon.

Saturday and Sunday Master Splinter worked his children extra hard to make up for their week off. He had them working from seven in the morning to eight at night, with just an hour long lunch break from eleven to noon. It was leaving everyone very tired, sore, and cranky.

Sunday night, around 9:00, Kayla walked into the kitchen to grab an apple. She'd just had a shower, changing into a T-shirt and running shorts, and was now texting Marcus. She sat down at the kitchen table across from Raph, who was eating a sandwich.

He narrowed his eyes at her slightly. "What're ya doin'?" he asked, his voice rough.

Kayla glanced at him before looking back at her Shell Cell. "Texting Marcus."

Raph rolled his eyes. "You two just spent a whole week together. Can't ya give 'im a break?"

Kayla glared up at her brother as she swallowed the last bite of her apple. "He texted me, Raph. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is, it's late. Ya should be gettin' ready for bed, not textin' your boyfriend." he retorted.

"I don't normally go to bed until, like, ten, and you've never had a problem with that before. What's changed?" Kayla demanded.

"What's changed is you're startin' ta act like ya did when you were datin' that Ethan kid. You're completely blankin' us to spend time with him."

"I am not!" Kayla shouted defensively. "I've been spending the entire weekend with you guys! What more do you want?"

"Yeah, trainin'." Raph snapped. "We've been trainin' all weekend, ya didn't really have a choice."

By now the other three turtles had appeared in the kitchen doorway, having heard the commotion.

"Alright, fine. We were training all weekend. What do you want from me? I hung out with the whole family all last week, didn't I? Not just Marcus."

"Yeah, but when ya did hang out with us you were cuddled up with him, practically ignorin' the rest of us, just like the last time ya had a boyfriend!"

Leo stepped into the kitchen, holding his hands up. "Alright, Raph cool off. We've had a busy weekend, we're all tired. Lets not start something right now." Leo reasoned, trying to calm everyone down as he stepped between his two arguing siblings.

Raph just shoved past Leo. "I'm not gonna cool down! I'm startin' ta think Marcus's no betta 'den Ethan. All he's doin' is keepin' ya from your family." Raph argued, getting in Kayla's face.

Kayla gaped up at her brother, not believing he just said that. "I can't believe you just compared Marcus to Ethan. They're nothing alike! Ethan was possessive of me, he didn't want to share me with my friends or family. Marcus spends time with me because we both enjoy being in each other's company. He likes me for who I am, and I like him."

Raph crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Awe, how sweet. Ya know what that sounds like? A fairytale. Ya know why? Cause stuff like dat don't exist! He's just like every otha boy out dere! Sure, now he looks like da perfect guy in the whole world. Well, I give it a month. By den he'll get sick a' ya and dump ya for someone betta."

Kayla stared up at her brother, her body and mind frozen and replaying the last phrase he said. Her throat tightened as she took a shaky step back away from Raph. She felt a hand on her arm and she wrenched it away, shoving past Leo and her brothers and running out of the lair.

She didn't stop running until she reached the surface. Then, she walked until she reached Central Park. She was still shaking, her anger making her surprisingly cold. Instead of her blood boiling in rage, she was frozen.

Seeing a rock on the path in front of her, Kayla kicked it, stuffing her hands in her jeans pockets.

"Stupid Raphael." she grumbled. She looked up into the treetops, watching the branches rustle in the breeze, throwing their shadows over her face. "Why can't my life be normal? Why can't I have a normal family? With two human parents? No mutants, ninjas, murderers, nightmares…Why does my life have to be so screwed up? I wish…I wish I was an only child, that I didn't have any stupid brothers."

The breeze whistled through the trees overhead and Kayla sighed, feeling drained after the whole day.

A sharp prick in her arm made Kayla flinch. "Ow." she felt around the back of her upper arm with her other hand until she pulled something out of her arm.

It was some kind of dart. She turned it in her fingers, when suddenly she started feeling dizzy. She started seeing double and black started clouding the edge of her vision.

The last thing she saw was shadows approaching her from behind the trees before everything went black.


	27. Chapter 27

"Come on guys, hurry up!" Alana called behind her at Marcus and Katie as they hurried through the dark, cold sewer tunnels, smelly sewage sloshing around their feet.

"Alana, we have all afternoon. She's probably just sick or something, she's not going anywhere." Katie reasoned as she followed her cousin around a bend in the tunnel.

Finally, Alana reached a familiar brick wall and pulled a lever, standing back as the wall opened to reveal the old subway station. The three friends entered together.

The four turtles looked up from what they were doing; Don sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop in front of him, Leo standing beside him leaning over the table, Mikey pacing the kitchen, and Raph beating his punching bag.

Alana looked around the familiar home that had become a favorite hangout place as she followed her friends to the kitchen.

"Hey, where's Kayla?" Marcus asked curiously, "She wasn't in school today. Is she alright?"

Silence followed. Raph paused in his punches before continuing with renewed vigor. Mikey looked at the floor while Leo and Don glanced at each other, not sure what to say.

Alana glanced around at the four brothers, waiting anxiously for an answer, or for her best friend to come out of her room or something. None of that happened.

"Well?" Katie asked impatiently. Alana knew her cousin was using her impatience to cover up her fear.

Leo sighed deeply, his head lowering slightly. "Around nine, 9:30 last night Kayla left the lair to cool off…she still hasn't come home." he announced quietly, staring down at the wooden tabletop.

Marcus's face dropped. "What do you mean? She's missing?!"

Katie stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Do you mean she was taken? Or is she just staying away from home for a bit? What happened? Why'd she leave?"

Leo glanced at Raph for less than a second, a spark of anger flashing briefly in his brown eyes, before looking back at the three teenagers. "There was some…tension last night, so Kay left the lair to cool down, like she normally does. But we haven't heard anything from her since then. We don't know what happened."

"Well…can't you trace her Shell Cell or something?" Katie asked, moving to stand by Don, leaning on her palms on the tabletop as she examined his computer screen.

Don sighed, rubbing his hand tiredly down his face. "Yeah, that's the first thing I did after she didn't answer it when we called. Nothing. Either she managed to shut down the tracking device, which is next to impossible, or her Shell Cell has been destroyed." Don sighed and rested his forehead in his hands. "I'm trying to think of what else to do."

Everyone was silent, apart from Raph continuously beating his punching bag to a pulp. Katie's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Hey, Don? Have you tried, maybe, hacking into some traffic cams? Maybe you could spot her, see where she was headed or what happened." she suggested, looking down at him.

Don blinked before lifting his head slowly from his hands. "That could be worth a shot, actually." he admitted before typing away at his keyboard.

For another half an hour Don searched through video footage of traffic cams, Leo and Katie watching from over his shoulders. Mikey had his nose stuffed in a comic book, though no one knew he wasn't actually reading it, he was using it to cover up the fear clouding his mind. Marcus and Alana sat on the couch, not really saying anything. And Raph continued to beat up his punching bag, trying to keep his mind off the previous night.

After a while Don sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I can't find any footage of her, the best I can come up with is a guess. There's a crosswalk only half a block from a manhole we use frequently, the traffic cam there's been down for about a week. If she crossed the street anywhere, it was probably there, but she could've gone anywhere after that."

Raph paused and looked over his shoulder at Don, "So whatchur sayin' is: we got nothin'."

"Raph, cool it, he's trying." Leo snapped.

Everyone looked down in disappointment, silently thinking the same thing as Raph, but not blaming Don for it.

After about a minute of silence Don's laptop beeped. Don's eye ridges furrowed in confusion as he leaned closer and began tapping keys. His eyes snapped open in shock.

"Guys!" he yelled, heading jerking up.

Everyone raced over to him, crowding around behind him to get a good look, even Master Splinter came out of his room to see what had been found.

There, on the computer screen was Kayla, gagged and tied up to a chair in what looked to be an old warehouse.

"What da shell is dat, Donny?!" Raph demanded, anger thickening his Brooklyn accent.

"It's a video someone sent me." Don spoke quietly, distracted by the horrible sight before him. As if in slow motion, he clicked play on the video.

Kayla's eyes were closed, as if unconscious. Then, another figure stepped into the shot to stand next to her.

Raph growled from deep in his throat. Shredder looked the same as he had the last time they saw him. Towering over Kayla at about 7 foot tall, his metal suit merged with his flesh, shining blades sticking out of his shoulders and arms.

"_Hello Freaks." _Shredder greeted tauntingly into the camera, _"I'm sure you recognize my guest here. You all should know by now not to leave…valuables unattended in this city. Now, I'm assuming you're all expecting some sort of…ransom to get her back, however…that's not how this is going to work. I'm not going to give you the option of saving her. Now that I have her, I will get my revenge, and make you all watch."_

Raph growled and clenched his fist around his sai handle. Kayla had opened her eyes when the Shredder began talking and glanced up at the camera once before lowering her eyes to look at the ground.

"_I'm assuming you want to know what I have planned for her. Well, it took me a while to come up with the perfect revenge, not only on you but her as well, but I finally succeeded. I have many brilliant scientists working for me, and they were able to take samples of my DNA to create this." _he held up a glass canister, much like the ones from TGRI, containing a strange, liquid-like substance that was a glowing red color. _"This is a recreation of the mutagen that you freaks used on me. Now, we haven't tested it out yet, however, I think I have the perfect test subject right here." _he stated, using the tips of his gauntlet blades to lift Kayla's chin up. She still refused to look into the camera, Leo could tell she was hiding the shame in her eyes from them.

"_Now, I know you freaks well. I know you'll try to find her and save her, so here's something that may discourage you. Here's what your precious Kayla really thinks of you." _Shredder announced with a smug, almost amused, tone of voice, holding up a voice recorder in his hand. He pushed play and Kayla's voice came from it, making Kayla's eyes widen in horror.

"_Stupid Raphael. Why can't my life be normal? Why can't I have a normal family? With two human parents? No mutants, ninjas, murderers, nightmares…Why does my life have to be so screwed up? I wish…I wish I was an only child, that I didn't have any stupid brothers."_

Kayla was staring off into space, her eyes wide with a mixture of horror and guilt. Her family and friends watching had a mix of reactions. Leo was angry, but at the fact that Shredder even thought that would change their minds about saving her. Alana, Katie, and Marcus were shocked she'd said those things, none of them knowing what happened the previous night. Raph was hurt, not that he'd show it, by the things Kayla said; mostly because she was talking about him, and it was all his fault she was in this mess.

Shredder put the recorder down and looked back into the camera. _"Keep all that in mind when thinking about saving her, turtles. I have a specific time planned for when I wish to use the new mutagen on her, however you have no idea when that will be. It could be tonight, or I might wait a week, let her starve a bit to weaken her. Who knows? But don't worry, you won't miss anything. I'll be sure to send you the tape." _he promised darkly before the video feed cut off.

Awkward, tense silence followed for several moments.

"So…" Mikey spoke uncertainly, "what are we gonna do?" he asked, his voice weak and scared.

Leo looked over to where Raph had moved, leaning his shell and hands against the kitchen counter.

"Raph?" Leo checked, concerned about his brothers feelings towards the voice recording. Raph didn't say anything, just kept his head down. Leo moved to stand a foot in front of the normally short-tempered turtle. "You know she didn't mean any of that stuff, Raph. She was upset and tired last night, we all were. When people get upset they say things they don't mean. If I remember correctly, you said a few things last night that you aren't too proud of." Leo pointed out, remembering the things Raph had said to Kayla that started the whole thing.

Raph glanced guiltily at Marcus from the corner of his eyes before looking back at the ground. "I neva said I was mad at 'er. It's jus' that…this is all my fault." he whispered, bowing his head more in shame. "If I'd jus' kept my mouth shut like ya told me she wouldn't have run off. Now the Shredder has her. What do we do?" he asked weakly, looking up at his older brother. Leo hid his surprise at how scared Raph sounded. Instead he turned to face everyone in the kitchen.

"We need to work fast, we have no idea when Shredder plans on doing this, and that makes every second priceless. Don, is there any way you can track where that video was recorded from?" Leo asked commandingly.

Don, who was already looking into it before his brother said anything, shook his head sadly. "No, it's probably from some kind of laptop, I can't track it, and there's tons of firewalls and security encryptions. I have no way of finding its location."

Raph glared at the floor as several minutes of silence passed before looking up. "Why don't we just start searchin' the city? Chances are, they're in some warehouse somewhere, so lets go. At least we'd be doin' somethin'."

"More like wasting precious time. Raph, there's hundreds of warehouses in New York, they could be anywhere. We don't have time to be running all around the city."

"We don't have time ta be sitting around with our thumbs up our shells, either Fearless Leader. Our sister is in trouble!" Raph shouted.

"Wait!" Don shouted as he leaned back over his laptop. "Raph, you may be onto something!"

Leo and Raph exchanged a confused glance before moving to stand behind Don as he rewound the video.

"What are ya doin'?" Raph asked in confusion.

Don didn't answer, just re-watched the video, on mute because he didn't want to listen to all that again. After a few minutes of scanning the screen he paused it and pointed to something in the background.

"Right there." he announced, making everyone move to see what he was pointing at.

"What?" Leo asked, unsure what he was looking at.

"It's a window." Don told everyone. "If I can just zoom in…" he trailed off as he did just that, zooming in on the window and clearing the image to see it better. He narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the landscape outside the window.

"It looks like…a bunch of trash. There's scrap metal, a couple old tires, there's even an old refrigerator." he explained.

Leo narrowed his eyes at the ground thoughtfully for a moment before looking next to him at Raph.

"Hey Raph, when you and Keno infiltrated the Foot and you got kidnapped…wasn't their hideout in a junkyard?"

Raph's eyes widened before he snapped his head to his older brother. "Yeah…it was."

"You remember which one?" Don asked hurriedly, looking over his shoulder at his brother.

"Of course I do. That's gotta be it." Raph straightened and looked at his family.

"Well, it's a lead, and our best chance." Leo corrected him, too worried to get his hopes up. "Lets go."

The four brothers hurried toward the entrance, but Marcus hurried after them.

"Wait!"

The four turtles stopped and looked back at him.

"I wanna come with you guys." Marcus demanded worriedly.

Leo shook his head. "Sorry Marcus. It's too dangerous."

"But-" Marcus stopped when a clawed hand rested on his shoulder.

"Your motives are admirable, Young Marcus. However, I think it will be best to let my sons do this alone. They are trained ninja, and this will be a very difficult and dangerous fight, even for them. The best thing you can do is wait here for them to return with Kayla." Splinter advised him.

Marcus looked extremely conflicted, enough that Raph gained a new respect for him. He was willing to rush into a life-threatening fight to save Raph's sister because he cared about her that much.

Raph stepped closer to him. "Look, kid. I know ya care about Kayla, and for that I'm grateful. She needs someone like you in her life. But right now, we need to go bring her home. Shredder is strong enough to take us all out on his own, an' I have no doubt there's gonna be tons of Foot ninjas there. You taggin' along won't be much of a help. The best thing ya can do is stay here, and be there when we bring Kay home."

Marcus looked uncertainly up at Raph before nodding in agreement. Raph rested his hand on Marcus's shoulder before following his brothers out of the lair.


	28. Chapter 28

When Shredder finished filming he left the room and said something to his ninjas, but Kayla wasn't really paying attention to what was happening. She felt numb, but at the same time there was a clenching in her chest. She couldn't believe they'd played that recording. She couldn't believe she actually said those things about her family.

(Whenever you Remember -Carrie Underwood)

Kayla sat there, her head hanging forward, staring down at the concrete floor, when she felt someone untie the cloth gag around her mouth and take it off. She didn't move, didn't react. Someone came to kneel in front of her, but she didn't even bat an eye.

_When you look back on times we had_

_I hope you smile_

_And know that through the good and through the bad_

_I was on your side when nobody could hold us down_

A bowl of food, it looked like brown rice, was moved into her vision, but she continued to look through it.

"I brought you food." a familiar voice whispered just loud enough for the young teen to hear.

Kayla blinked and slowly lifted her head to look Karai in the eyes. She took a deep breath.

"What do you want?" she asked tiredly. She already had her own problems she was trying to sort out in her head, and now Karai was just confusing her to the point of getting an eternal migraine.

_We claimed the brightest star and we,_

_We came so far_

_And no they won't forget_

Karai sighed and looked over her shoulder for a moment. "I'm not supposed to get you any food or water, so eat this quickly before someone sees and tells Shredder." Karai ordered, lifting a spoonful of the rice to Kayla's mouth. Kayla simply turned her head away. Karai pulled the spoon away again, her brown eyes holding confusion.

_Whenever you remember times gone by_

_Remember how we held our heads so high_

_When all this world was there for us_

_And we believed that we could touch the sky_

"If you're not supposed to give me food, then why are you?" she asked in a dry voice.

Karai looked down at the bowl, which was sitting in her lap as she sat on her knees.

"Shredder wants you to suffer. He wants you…as well as the turtles and your…Sensei to suffer for all the things you've done against him." Karai paused and took another breath as she looked up at Kayla. "I don't want to hurt you. At least not like this. There is no honor in doing this to you."

_Whenever you remember I'll be there_

_Remember how we reached that dream together_

_Whenever you remember_

"If you don't want to, then why are you here? You're, what, second in command of the Foot? Why would you even be associated with the Foot Clan if you actually believe in honor? Most of the ninjas here probably don't even know what honor is. How did you get involved in this?" Kayla asked, leaning back in the chair.

_When you think back on all we've done, I hope you're proud_

_When you look back and see how far we've come_

_It was our time to shine and nobody could hold us down_

Karai looked down again. "It is my duty, my honor, to serve the Shredder. I was born in Japan by a young couple. They could not afford to keep me, so when I was about five years old they abandoned me. Oroku Saki heard me crying and found me. He took me in, gave me a home, a life. He became my father."

_They thought they'd see us fall but we,_

_We stood so tall_

_And no we won't forget_

Kayla was silent for several moments. "Shredder's your father?" she repeated.

Karai nodded, looking up at Kayla. "Just like you."

Kayla's eyes hardened and she glared down at Karai. "The Shredder is no father to me. He murdered my mother, as well as Tang Shen and Master Yoshi. He has done nothing but cause pain and misery to my family. My father is Hamatto Splinter."

_Whenever you remember times gone by_

_Remember how we held our heads so high_

_When all this world was there for us_

_And we believed that we could touch the sky_

_Whenever you remember I'll be there_

_Remember how we reached that dream together_

_Whenever you remember_

Karai nodded again. "I understand. Shredder is more a father to me because he raised me, as Splinter did you. And I honor your opinion." she said as she once again lifted the spoon of rice towards Kayla's mouth. Kayla again turned her head away.

_Yeah…_

_Ooohhh_

Karai sighed. "What is the matter?"

Kayla glared down at her. "You serve the Shredder, yet you're going against him now trying to feed me. Quite honestly, you're giving me a headache. The first time I met you, you helped me and my family fight the stone generals. Then, you attack me for no reason at Coney Island. Now this. You keep switching sides like a bipolar kid playing double-dutch. You need to pick a side, Karai. There is no honor in staying on the fence, you can't stay there forever. You need to choose."

_We claimed the brightest star and we,_

_We came so far_

_You know that we,_

_We showed them all_

_And no they won't forget_

_Yeah…_

Karai was silent for several moments, looking off into space as if she was seeing memories. Then, she looked away.

"I'm am duty-bound to serve my master, as are you. Could you walk away from your Sensei, your family, so easily?"

Kayla thought for a moment. "No, but my family didn't murder innocent people. Yours did. If it was the right thing to do, yes I would walk away. But it isn't. My family and I fight for honor and doing the right thing. Shredder fights for power and vengeance. He has no honor."

_Whenever you remember times gone by_

_Remember how we held our heads so high_

_When all this world was there for us_

_And we believed that we could touch the sky_

Karai continued to look at her lap. "Your brothers are clever. How long do you think it will take them to find you?" she asked quietly, seeming to change the subject.

Kayla blinked, slightly thrown off at the change of subject. Then, she looked down. "I don't even know if they're looking for me at all." she answered quietly.

Karai looked up at her in confusion. "Why wouldn't they be? You're their family, correct?"

_Whenever you remember I'll be there_

_Remember how we reached that dream together_

_Whenever you remember_

"Yeah, but you heard that recording Shredder played. Why would they come find me after hearing me say that?"

"They're your family. It shouldn't matter to them if you said those things. They should know you didn't mean them."

_Whenever you remember_

_Ooohh_

_Whenever you remember_

Kayla looked at her lap, not believing she was actually listening to Karai of all people. And, surprisingly, she hoped Karai was right, and that her brothers were coming for her.

The sound of a door slamming made both girls look up. Karai stood and vanished into the shadows as Shredder walked in with a couple Foot ninjas following.

"I know I said I might wait but, well, I feel I've waited long enough."


	29. Chapter 29

Shredder moved to stand beside the chair Kayla was tied to. She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye but then went straight back to staring at the cement floor beneath her feet.

One of the Foot ninjas was standing beside the video camera. He pushed a button before nodding to Shredder.

"Hello again, turtles. No surprise, you didn't come to rescue your pathetic little Kayla. I suppose I should be a little surprised, but, really I'm not. You freaks had your chance. Now, watch as your precious Kayla suffers not only from her own mistakes, but from yours as well." he announced as he held the open canister over her head, slowly tilting it.

Kayla bit her lip as she squeezed her eyes shut tight, feeling tears threatening to spill. She breathed in a shaky breath before whispering, "I'm sorry."

There was a loud shattering behind them, causing Kayla to hunch her shoulders and duck her head, not knowing what was happening. Several voices shouted and suddenly the ropes around Kayla's wrists were cut, causing her to fall forward.

She was caught in a pair of strong arms. Familiar arms. A sob escaped her throat as she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't-"

"Sshhh." Raph's voice whispered in her ear, cutting off her apology as his arms tightened around her. "I know. I'm sorry, too, Sis."

"Mikey, get Kayla outta here." Leo ordered from the other side of the room. Raph stood up, lifting Kayla with him but letting her feet touch the ground.

He passed her to someone else and when Kayla's vision cleared she saw Mikey. He smiled nervously at her.

"Can you walk?" he asked quickly, one hand holding a nunchuck while the other was around her middle, supporting her.

Kayla nodded, slightly dazed, but she felt like she could walk on her own. Mikey grabbed her hand and practically dragged her to a large broken window.

About five Foot ninjas intercepted them, making Mikey let go of Kayla to fight them while Kayla stood behind him.

Another ninja landed beside Kayla making her turn to face it. She glared and raised her fists when she realized it was Karai. Karai had a sword with its blade pointed at Kayla's chest.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at the younger ninja before glancing around the room. Kayla noticed several emotion flash through her eyes before they landed back on her. She lowered her sword and stood straight, looking at Kayla with emotions she couldn't quite place.

"You and your brothers are very honorable. I now see what you meant. I will not fight for the Shredder any longer, however I cannot fight against him. I wish you luck, Hamatto Kayla."

With that Karai bowed, sheathed her katana, and leapt out the window.

Kayla stared after her, not sure what just happened. But a body landing just at her feet snapped her out of her trance. Mikey grabbed her shoulders and pushed her towards the broken window.

A large figure landed next to them with a loud thud, making Kayla freeze. She stared in horror as Shredder knocked Mikey out of the way with the back of his hand. He then turned to glare at Kayla with evil, red eyes. He swung his gauntlet at her, but she leapt backward to dodge it.

Thinking quickly, Kayla raced for the window, grabbed the rusty old curtain rod, and swung out the window. She somehow gained enough leverage to swing all the way up, let go of the rod, and catch the edge of the rooftop. Kayla gritted her teeth as she pulled herself up onto the roof.

She slowly made her way to the center of the flat, concrete roof, catching her breath as she tried to watch every side around her.

After about thirty seconds of quiet she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. As long as she was up there, she was safe.

A loud crash shook the building, throwing Kayla back a few feet, landing hard on her back. It took a few moments, but she managed to roll onto her side and push herself up into a sitting position.

There was several large cracks in the roof where the impact had been delivered. Another blow shook the building once again, making Kayla sit up straighter to see what was happening.

Suddenly, a large fist broke through the surface, causing several large chunks of the cement to fall through. Kayla climbed to her feet and stumbled as far back from the hole as possible, stopping several feet from the edge.

She could see Shredder trying to climb up through the hole, her brothers attacking him in an attempt to stop him. But Shredder merely threw them off like they were nothing.

Kayla felt around her chest, but realized she didn't have her bow and quiver with her. She had no weapon to fight back with. She took a couple slow steps back as Shredder succeeded in climbing onto the roof with her, causing the building to quiver under his weight.

Kayla backed up a few more steps, but stopped when she felt her heel meet empty air. She looked over her shoulder and saw she's at the edge of the building. Down below there are dozens of sharpened, old pipes stabbed into the ground, probably a form of security.

"Okay, that cancels out that idea." she mumbles to herself as she looks back at Shredder. He rushes toward her and she leaps to her left, barely missing him. She runs toward the opposite side of the building as her brothers leap up through the hole and attack him.

She watches as Don gets thrown into Raph, the purple-masked turtle barely catching himself on the edge of the building above the sharpened pipes. Kayla narrowed her eyes slightly as Don pulled himself up.

Her eyes snapped wide open as an idea formed in her head.

Mikey landed on his shell next to her, sliding a couple feet before he finally stopped.

"Ow. Yeah, that's gonna bruise tomorrow." he grumbled as he stood back up, brushing off his arms.

"Mikey, I've got an idea." Kayla told him quickly.

He looked at her, his blue eyes surprised. "Really? What is it?"

"We don't have time to explain. Just follow my lead." Kayla told him before rushing up to the Shredder, leaping into the air, and slamming her feet into his chest as hard as she could, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

Mikey watched as she did it a couple more times, still not getting what she was doing. Her other brothers weren't too sure either. Then, it hit him. A huge grin appeared on Mikey's face as he raced in, leapt into the air, and kicked Shredder in the face.

"Guys! Follow Kay's lead!" he shouted before leaping back in, alternating with Kayla as she did the same. Shredder stumbled back another step with every kick.

Their three older brothers looked at each other in confusion before Don looked over the edge of the building he'd almost fallen off earlier, since they were kicking Shredder in that direction. His eyes widened with realization and he smacked Leo's plastron with the back of his hand.

Leo and Raph followed his gaze. Their eyes lit up with realization and a smirk appeared on Raph's face. The two oldest nodded to each other before all three raced in and joined their brother and sister.

The five siblings alternated between kicking him in the chest, his head, or swiping their weapons at him.

Finally, Shredder stood right on the edge, and after several kicks he still was budging. Kayla was breathing hard, but she knew her brothers were way more tired than she was. She glanced behind the Shredder, getting a last-ditch-effort idea. She backed up a few steps, earning a couple nervous glances from her brothers. They knew she was up to something.

Kayla swallowed before racing forward at full speed. She heard her brothers yell at her to stop, but she ignored them. She had to do this.

She leapt into the air, bringing her knees up to her chest. She barely missed Shredder's gauntlets swiping at her. Her feet made contact with his chest, but instead of leaping back off, she allowed the force to carry her with him. She could feel him losing his balance, falling back.

When Shredder began toppling over the edge, Kayla pushed her feet against his chest again, propelling herself forward. She flew forward and her hands grabbed the telephone line she'd spotted. Her body swung violently, and she was almost afraid the line would snap, sending her to her death on the pipes below. But it calmed down and she hung there, her fists in a death grip on the scarily-thin wire. She breathed a sigh of relief before looking down.

Shredder was laying on his back, a few of the pipes were stabbed up through his chest, and one had stabbed through the back of his head and face. Blood was pouring from the wounds and staining the ground around him. Kayla had to look away, her stomach feeling slightly queasy at the sight.

"Are ya crazy?!" Raph shouted from the edge of the building. Kayla looked over her shoulder at them. Don jumped off the building, landing on a safe piece of dirt, and walked carefully over to Shredder's body, probably to check that he was actually dead this time.

Instead of answering her brother sarcastically, Kayla shouted, "Maybe."

Tense silence fell over them as their brainiac brother knelt down beside their enemy. He rested his fingers under the Shredder's chin, probably checking for a pulse. Don pulled away and stood up, looking over his shoulder at his siblings with a blank expression.

They waited tensely before a relieved smile spread across his face.

"Shredder's finally dead." he announced.

Kayla sighed in relief while her brothers started cheering on the rooftop.

"Kayla, come on, lets go home." Leo called from his spot on the roof.

Kayla glanced over her shoulder at him, then looked at the ground for a moment. She looked over her shoulder once more before saying, "Uuumm…about that…could someone give me a hand getting down?" she asked nervously.

Her brothers couldn't help but laugh.

XXX

About half an hour later the five siblings quietly entered the lair. Marcus, Alana, Katie, and Splinter all looked up from the kitchen table for a moment before the three teens raced forward to greet their friend.

Kayla was almost knocked off her feet as Alana and Katie both slammed into her, nearly squeezing the breath out of her from their tight hug. After a few seconds they pulled back and Marcus took their place.

As his arms wrapped around her Kayla wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. His warmth seemed to spread through her cold, shivering body, his strong arms giving her a sense of security. Like nothing could hurt her.

As those feelings took over she felt herself give in to her exhaustion and her mind went black…

XXX

Kayla grimaced, squinting her eyes for a moment before forcing them open. She was in her bedroom, the lights were off so it was fairly dark, but light enough she could see everything.

She felt a hand grab hers, making her look beside her bed. Marcus was there, sitting in her computer chair beside her bed. He smiled gently down at her.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" he asked gently, stroking her hand was his thumb.

Kayla stretched a bit. "I've been better, but given everything that happened, I'm fine." she thought for a moment, not remembering going to bed. "What happened?" she asked, glancing around the room.

"I guess you kinda passed out in my arms." Marcus explained. "Don thinks it's cause you were tired, hungry, and a little dehydrated. You should be fine after you get something to eat and drink."

Kayla nodded and silence fell over them for a few moments. Finally, Marcus decided to break it.

"I was really worried about you." he said suddenly, making Kayla look up at him. She just noticed how he looked. He had small bags under his eyes and his black hair was more tousled than usual, sticking out at all angles.

Kayla looked just as bad. Her skin was slightly paler than normal, she had bags under her eyes, her lips were dry and cracked, and her hair seemed a little flat.

She looked down at her bed when Marcus continued. "When we watched that video I was honestly terrified of what Shredder was going to do to you. The guys probably didn't get the chance to tell you, but when they were leaving I wanted to go with them. I know that's stupid, but I was more scared of you getting hurt than myself."

Kayla looked up at him again, smiling slightly.

"Sorry." she whispered.

"Don't be. I guess this is something I'm gonna have to get used to, huh? With you being a ninja and all." he teased lightly, a gentle smile on his face.

Kayla smiled a little wider. "Well, look at it this way. Don said Shredder's actually dead this time. Maybe things will be easier now."

Marcus chuckled quietly. "Yeah, Mikey was going on and on about how you took care of the Shredder. Pushing him off that building onto those pipes? I swear he won't shut up about it. Raph's about ready to kill him." he explained, shaking his head in amusement.

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Sounds like him."

Marcus smiled down at her again, moving his hand from hers to her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. He leaned down and Kayla leaned up slightly.

Their lips met gently as Kayla moved her hand up the back of his neck to his hair. He kept his hand on her cheek while his other hand slid to the back of her neck, tangling in her long hair. They kissed for a while, getting a little carried away, until they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

They pulled away and looked at the doorway.

Raph was leaning his shoulder against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest like usual. He also had a smug, knowing smirk on his face.

"I was coming to ask if you were hungry, but you two seem a little preoccupied."

Kayla grabbed her pillow from behind her head and chucked it at him, making him laugh as he left the room.


	30. Epilogue

Kayla pulled her motorcycle helmet off and smoothed down her hair with her spare hand. She hurried to her locker to get her textbooks. She hadn't gone to school on Tuesday since she spent most of Monday night passed out. So, she had to wait until Wednesday before she could go back, which she didn't mind.

She set her bag on the ground as she put in her combination. Her locker opened and she knelt down to lift up her bag, but paused when she saw something on the floor of her locker. She reached in and pulled out…a scroll?

It was a beige-colored paper rolled up like a scroll and tied with a red ribbon. Kayla stood up and untied the ribbon, unrolling the paper to read it. It said in fancy cursive writing:

_You are cordially invited _

_to be escorted to the Prom_

_by Marcus Brown _

_as his official date and girlfriend_

Kayla felt a huge smile creep across her face as she read the invitation. She heard tennis shoes scuff the marble flooring behind her, making her look over her shoulder.

Marcus smiled nervously at her, his hands stuffed in his jean pockets.

"I know it's kinda short notice and all, you were supposed to get it on Monday, but…yeah." Marcus shrugged and grinned sheepishly at her.

Kayla giggled and hugged him, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"You still haven't answered." he whispered in her ear, making her shiver a little.

"My answer's yes." she whispered back, making him hug her closer.

XXX

About a month later, everyone was relaxing in the lair. Leo was in the dojo meditating with Splinter; Don was tinkering with Mikey's shell cell at the kitchen table because Mikey dropped it again; Mikey, Katie, and Marcus were sitting on the floor playing Mario cart, and Raph, Alana, and Kayla were watching on the couch with Klunk on Alana's lap.

The sound of brick scraping against brick announced the arrival of April and Casey.

"Kayla Hamatto!" April's voice shouted from across the lair, making Kayla jump and everyone look up, either at the redhead or the girl in question.

"Yeah?" Kayla called nervously, not knowing what she could've possibly done to make the redhead angry.

April stomped in and held up an envelope. "What is this?" she demanded.

Kayla scrunched up her face in confusion before getting up and trying to make her way around everyone sitting on the floor. She took the envelope from April and looked at who it was from. Her eyes widened and she felt her stomach clench with nerves. She swallowed and, with trembling hands, ripped the envelope open.

The empty envelope fell from her hands as she held the letter in both hands and read it. By now Don, Leo, and Splinter had joined everyone and Mikey had paused the game so they could see what was going on.

As Kayla read her eyes lit up and she shouted, "Yes!" as she jumped slightly, throwing her hands in the air.

"What is it?" Don asked curiously.

Kayla turned around so she could face her whole family and friends. She held the letter up next to her face with both hands.

"This…is my acceptance letter." she answered with a huge smile.

She didn't notice Raph's face fall slightly as everyone glanced among themselves.

"Wait," Don spoke up, "I didn't even know you applied to any colleges. Every time I brought college up you avoided the topic."

Kayla shrugged and looked down at the letter. "I didn't want to tell anyone and get my hopes up. I only applied to one college, this one, and I got accepted."

"And this college would be?" Leo pressed with his arms crossed, a small, proud smile on his face. Raph looked over at the paused TV screen, pretending not to care, even though he really didn't want to hear this anyway.

Kayla chewed her lip with a smile for a moment. She took a deep breath before answering, "The Police Academy in Queens, New York."

Raph's head snapped up and everyone looked surprised.

"You want to be a police officer? What made you pick that? And that college?" April asked with a smile on her face. She was only annoyed earlier because she didn't know why Kayla was getting letters from a college.

Kayla nodded. "I want to do something with my life that involves doing what I love doing anyway. Helping people, putting bad guys behind bars. And if I get a paycheck for it, that's just a bonus. Plus, the Police Academy is only about a half an hour drive from here. I could go to college and not have to move away. I could still live here with my family." she looked around at her brothers and father. "If that's okay." she added quietly.

Her brothers all smiled at each other, all of them equally glad that their little sister wasn't leaving any time soon.

Splinter came up and hugged his daughter. "We are all more than happy, my daughter. This will always be your home."

Kayla smiled and hugged her father tighter before stepping back. One by one, the rest of her family and friends all stepped up to hug and congratulate her. All saying they were glad she wasn't leaving yet, even though Alana had plans to go to a college in New Jersey. Raph stepped up last.

He hugged her close and whispered in her ear, "I'm proud of ya. Just don't grow up too fast, kay?"

Kayla bit her lip as she felt tears sting her eyes, nodding quickly before burying her face in her big brother's shoulder for a moment.

She still had a lot to do before college. She had prom, final exams, graduation. It seemed like time was going too fast, like she was growing up too fast. But there was one thing that was never going to change.

No matter how old they got, or what they had to do in the future, they would always be a family. And they'd always be there for each other. Just like Aimi said in Kayla's dream. Together they could get through anything. That would never change.

_THE END_


End file.
